Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-16

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 5.0)

the total number of visitors to ashdown museum were [redacted phone]. the visitors before refurbishment were 74,000 and after 92,000.The results of survey before refurbishment shows 15% visitors were very satisfied, 30% visitors were satisfied, 40% were dissatisfied, 10% were very dissatisfied and 5% visitors gave no response.

The year after refurbishment shows that 35% visitors were very satisfied, 40% were just satisfied, 15% were dissatisfied, 5% were very dissatisifed and 5% gave no response.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You report the main figures accurately: visitor numbers rose from 74,000 to 92,000, and the satisfaction percentages for both years are correctly stated. However, the opening claim that the total number of visitors was 166,000 is misleading: these are separate annual totals, not a combined figure that answers the task. The response also lacks a clear overview of the main changes, such as the rise in satisfaction after refurbishment and the fall in dissatisfaction. Most importantly, it is substantially below the required 150 words, so the information is only minimally summarised and key comparisons are not developed. Add an overview and explain the most notable shifts rather than listing every category alone.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The information is presented in a generally understandable order: you give the visitor totals first, then describe survey results before and after refurbishment. This basic sequencing helps the reader follow the two periods. However, the response is essentially one block, with no distinct overview or paragraphing to separate the headline changes from the detailed figures. Connections between ideas are also limited; for example, the two survey descriptions could be linked with a comparison such as “By contrast” or “After refurbishment”. Organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and one or two detail paragraphs, and use linking phrases to show how the figures relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to identify the topic and report the categories, using terms such as “refurbishment”, “visitors”, “satisfied” and “dissatisfied”. The repeated use of “visitors” and “shows” makes the account sound list-like, though, and there is little variety in how you describe changes or compare the periods. “Just satisfied” is also less precise than the chart label “satisfied”, while “the total number … were 166000” uses an awkward expression for the annual figures. Spelling is mostly understandable, but “dissatisifed” is misspelled. Use accurate chart labels consistently and add suitable reporting language such as “increased”, “accounted for” and “whereas” to make comparisons clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates the figures through simple sentence patterns, but the grammatical range is limited and several errors recur. In “the total number of visitors … were 166000”, the singular subject “number” requires “was”; the same issue appears in “The results of survey … shows”, where the plural subject requires “show”. Articles are also missing in phrases such as “results of survey” and “5% visitors”. Punctuation and capitalisation need attention: sentences begin with lowercase letters, and there is no space after the full stop in “92,000.The”. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the data, but more accurate sentence construction and varied comparison structures are needed.

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