Cambridge 11 Writing Task 1 Test 4 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

The Prompt

Ashdown Museum Visitor Numbers and Satisfaction

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.

Write at least 150 words.

The Data

Total visitors to Ashdown Museum

Year before refurbishment: 74,000

Year after refurbishment: 92,000

Visitor satisfaction — year before refurbishment

Very satisfied: 15%

Satisfied: 30%

Dissatisfied: 40%

Very dissatisfied: 5%

No response: 10%

Visitor satisfaction — year after refurbishment

Very satisfied: 40%

Satisfied: 35%

Dissatisfied: 15%

Very dissatisfied: 5%

No response: 5%

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Band 9

168 words

Correctly identifies the halving of dissatisfaction as the single most dramatic change in the data.

The table and charts show how many people visited Ashdown Museum, and how satisfied they were, in the years before and after the museum was refurbished.

Overall, both the number of visitors and their satisfaction levels improved considerably following the refurbishment, with dissatisfaction falling especially sharply.

Visitor numbers rose from 74,000 in the year before refurbishment to 92,000 in the year after, an increase of nearly a quarter. This growth in visitor numbers was accompanied by a marked improvement in satisfaction: the proportion of visitors who were very satisfied rose dramatically, from just 15% before refurbishment to 40% afterwards, while those who were satisfied rose more modestly, from 30% to 35%.

The most striking change, however, was the fall in dissatisfaction. Before refurbishment, 40% of visitors reported being dissatisfied, but this figure dropped to just 15% afterwards, a reduction of more than half. Very dissatisfied visitors remained a small, unchanged minority at 5% in both periods, while the proportion giving no response also fell, from 10% to 5%.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers the table and both charts accurately, and the overview identifies the sharpest change, the fall in dissatisfaction, as the standout feature rather than treating all figures as equally significant.

Coherence & Cohesion: A clear overview precedes detail organised logically from visitor numbers to satisfaction levels, with cohesive devices ("however", "while") linking figures naturally.

Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("a marked improvement", "a reduction of more than half", "a small, unchanged minority") used accurately throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including passive voice and complex comparatives, used with full control.

Band 8

155 words

Accurate and clearly organised, just slightly less precise in quantifying the changes than a band 9 answer.

The table and charts give information about the number of visitors to Ashdown Museum and their satisfaction levels, before and after the museum was refurbished.

Overall, visitor numbers increased after the refurbishment, and visitor satisfaction also improved significantly, with far fewer people reporting that they were dissatisfied.

The number of visitors rose from 74,000 before refurbishment to 92,000 after, which is a considerable increase. Alongside this, the percentage of visitors who were very satisfied rose sharply, from 15% to 40%, while the percentage who were satisfied increased slightly less, from 30% to 35%.

The biggest change was in dissatisfaction, which fell from 40% before refurbishment to just 15% after. The percentage of visitors who were very dissatisfied stayed the same at 5% in both years, and the percentage giving no response also dropped, from 10% to 5%. These changes together suggest that the refurbishment had a clear, positive effect on how visitors experienced the museum.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers all the data accurately with a clear overview, though "the biggest change" is a slightly plainer way of flagging the dissatisfaction drop than the band 9 answer's specific "reduction of more than half".

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised from visitor numbers to satisfaction levels, with accurate cohesive devices throughout.

Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary for describing change, though "a considerable increase" is used instead of the more precise "nearly a quarter".

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Accurate throughout, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures.

Band 7

155 words

All figures are correct, but the same phrase describes almost every change in the data.

The table and charts show information about visitors to Ashdown Museum and how satisfied they were, before and after the museum was refurbished.

Overall, more people visited the museum after it was refurbished, and visitors were also more satisfied with their visit than before.

The number of visitors went up from 74,000 to 92,000 after the refurbishment. The percentage of visitors who were very satisfied went up a lot too, from 15% to 40%, and the percentage who were just satisfied went up a little, from 30% to 35%.

The percentage of dissatisfied visitors went down a lot, from 40% to 15%, which was the biggest change in the charts. Very dissatisfied visitors stayed the same at 5% in both years, and the percentage of people who did not respond also went down, from 10% to 5%. These changes together suggest that the refurbishment had a positive effect on how visitors felt about their visit.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports all the figures accurately with a basic overview, but comparative language ("went up a lot", "went down a lot") is repeated where a wider range would score higher.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised from visitor numbers to satisfaction levels, following a logical structure.

Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task; figures are accurate but connecting language is fairly narrow throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate, mostly simple sentence structures; meaning is always clear.

Band 6.5

151 words

The figures are all correct, but agreement errors appear in almost every sentence.

The table and chart show information about visitor to Ashdown Museum and how satisfied they was, before and after museum was refurbish.

Overall, more people visit museum after it was refurbish, and visitor also more satisfied with their visit than before.

The number of visitor go up from 74,000 to 92,000 after refurbishment. The percentage of visitor who was very satisfied go up a lot too, from 15% to 40%, and percentage who was just satisfied go up a little, from 30% to 35%.

The percentage of dissatisfied visitor go down a lot, from 40% to 15%, which was biggest change in the chart. Very dissatisfied visitor stay same at 5% in both year, and percentage of people who not respond also go down, from 10% to 5%. These change together suggest that refurbishment have positive effect on how visitor feel about their visit, especially compare to before museum was refurbish.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports all the figures accurately with a basic overview, matching the content of the band 7 answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised from visitor numbers to satisfaction levels, following the same structure as the higher-band answers.

Lexical Resource: Limited by "visitor" being used without its plural form throughout, and "was" used in place of "were".

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("visitor... they was", "museum was refurbish", "people visit museum", "visitor go up", "visitor stay same") appear in nearly every sentence.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

53 words

Most categories are missing exact figures, and it closes with an unsupported recommendation rather than a report.

This table show visitor number for museum. Before is 74,000 and after is 92,000, so more people come.

Chart show people happy more after museum change. Very satisfied go up a lot.

Not happy people go down after change, this show refurbish was good idea, museum should refurbish again in future I think.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: "Satisfied", "very dissatisfied" and "no response" are never given exact figures, and the closing recommendation ("museum should refurbish again in future") is a personal opinion that has no place in a Task 1 report. At well under 150 words, the response is also underlength.

Coherence & Cohesion: Reads as three short, disconnected remarks rather than an organised comparison between the two years.

Lexical Resource: Vague, repetitive vocabulary ("happy", "not happy", "go up") used instead of the specific category names and figures given in the charts.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("table show", "Chart show people happy more", "Not happy people go down").

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These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.