Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The table below shows the numbers of visitors to Ashdown Museum during the year before and the year after it was refurbished. The charts show the result of surveys asking visitors how satisfied they were with their visit, during the same two periods.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

The table shown compares the total number of visitors visiting Ashdown Museum in the year before and after its refurbishment, while the two pie charts summarise the results of the survey on how satisfied the visitors were over the same periods.

Overall, attendance has rose tremendously after the refurbishment, and the survery responses became far more positive. The proportions reporting dissatisfaction have declined by more than half.

In terms of visitor numbers, the museum welcomed 74,000 individuals before the refurbishment, rising to a staggering 92,000 after its refurbishment. Regarding satisfaction, the share of people who were very satisfied increased considerably, while the proportion satisfied also rose.

By contrast, negative feedback became less common following the upgrade. With only 5 percent of dissatisfied customers, compared to 10 percent before the renovation, this shows how useful the refurbishment is for the business, as dissatisfied customers has decreased by half. However, there's still a 5 percent of people who again have not given a response to the survey. As small as that number sounds, having results from those final individuals would help understand the overall picture much clearer.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall changes: attendance rose from 74,000 to 92,000, and satisfaction generally improved after the refurbishment. However, some key survey figures are misreported or omitted. The dissatisfied share fell from 40% to 15%, not to 5%; 5% refers to the very dissatisfied group after refurbishment. The overview’s claim that dissatisfaction declined by more than half is broadly supported, but the later comparison confuses the categories. You mention increases in the satisfied groups without giving their figures (30% to 40% and 15% to 35%), and do not report the very dissatisfied change (10% to 5%). The comment about the refurbishment being useful for the business also goes beyond what the charts establish. More precise reporting of the main categories would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate discussion of attendance and survey results. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In terms of,” and “By contrast” help the reader follow the comparison, and the ideas progress in a generally logical order. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in connecting points. However, the final paragraph shifts from reporting the data to speculating about the refurbishment’s business value and the usefulness of missing responses, which weakens the focus. The reference to “only 5 percent of dissatisfied customers” also makes the comparison difficult to follow because it confuses dissatisfaction with very dissatisfaction. Keep each paragraph focused on accurately comparing the chart categories.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing change, including “increased considerably,” “declined,” “proportion,” and “following the upgrade.” These choices help you avoid relying only on basic terms, and the meaning is generally clear. Some less common or emphatic expressions are not well matched to an objective chart summary: “staggering” overstates the rise, while “useful for the business” introduces an unsupported interpretation. There are also word-choice and spelling slips, including “survery” and “customers” for museum visitors. More precise, neutral language would improve control and style. For example, describe the figures as visitor numbers or survey respondents, and use “rose substantially” rather than an evaluative adjective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a subordinate clause in “while the two pie charts summarise…” and a contrast introduced by “However.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable. In the overview, “attendance has rose” should be “attendance rose” or “attendance has risen.” In “dissatisfied customers has decreased,” the plural subject requires “have decreased,” and “there’s still a 5 percent” would be more accurate as “there are still 5 percent” or “5 percent of respondents still gave no response.” The final comparison, “help understand the overall picture much clearer,” needs a grammatical form such as “help us understand the overall picture more clearly.” Checking verb forms, agreement, and comparative structures would improve accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.