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Cambridge 20 Writing Task 1 Test 3 - 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
Little Chalfont Library - Members and Loans
The charts below give information about a public library in a town called Little Chalfont.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The Data
Age of library members (2016)
Adults 18–64: 51%
Children: 22%
Young adults 13–17: 15%
Adults 65 and over: 12%
Total loans by category (2016)
Children's fiction: 38%
Adult fiction: 38%
Adult non-fiction: 13%
Children's non-fiction: 6%
Young adults: 2%
Adult audio books: 2%
Children's DVDs: 1%
Total number of loans (2007–2016)
2007: 15,700
2008: 19,000
2009: 19,000
2010: 20,600
2011: 21,100
2012: 20,700
2013: 19,600
2014: 20,700
2015: 21,200
2016: 21,600
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233 wordsTreats three charts as one story instead of three separate summaries: the hardest part of this task, done well.
The three charts provide information about a public library in Little Chalfont: the age profile of its members in 2016, how loans were distributed across categories that year, and how the total number of loans changed between 2007 and 2016.
Overall, working-age adults made up the largest membership group and accounted for the greatest share of book loans, while the library's total loan volume grew steadily over the decade before levelling off in its final few years.
Adults aged 18 to 64 formed just over half of all members in 2016, at 51%, more than double the proportion of children (22%) and young adults aged 13 to 17 (15%). Adults aged 65 and over made up the smallest group, at 12%. In terms of what was borrowed, children's fiction and adult fiction were by far the most popular categories, tying at 38% of all loans each, while adult non-fiction trailed at 13%. The remaining categories, children's non-fiction, young adult titles, audio books, and DVDs, together made up just 9% of loans, with none exceeding 6% individually.
The total number of loans rose from 15,700 in 2007 to a peak of around 21,100 in 2011, dipping slightly the following year before climbing again to reach its highest point of 21,600 in 2016. Notably, loans grew by more than a third over the decade as a whole, despite a brief plateau between 2013 and 2015.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Successfully synthesises three separate charts into a single, focused overview (who the members are and what they borrow, then how borrowing changed over time) instead of describing each chart in isolation; every figure quoted supports a stated comparison rather than just being listed.
Coherence & Cohesion: A genuine overview paragraph precedes chart-by-chart detail; cohesion is smooth throughout, and the report never feels like three separate summaries stapled together.
Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("levelling off", "tying at", "notably") with accurate handling of every percentage and figure.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including a nominalised comparison ("more than double the proportion of") that shows genuine control.
Band 8
227 wordsAccurate and clearly organised, just one notch less unified across the three charts than the band 9 answer.
The three charts give information about a library in Little Chalfont: who its members were by age in 2016, how loans were divided between categories that year, and how the total number of loans changed from 2007 to 2016.
Overall, adults of working age made up the biggest group of members and borrowed the most items, and the total number of loans increased over the ten-year period, although it slowed down slightly near the end.
In 2016, adults aged 18 to 64 were 51% of all members, which was much higher than children (22%) and young adults aged 13 to 17 (15%). Adults aged 65 and older were the smallest group, at only 12%. Looking at what people borrowed, children's fiction and adult fiction were the two most popular categories, each making up 38% of loans, while adult non-fiction was next at 13%. All the other categories, including children's non-fiction, young adult books, audio books, and DVDs, made up less than 9% combined.
The number of loans went up from 15,700 in 2007 to about 21,100 by 2011, then dropped a little in 2012 before rising again to reach 21,600 in 2016, its highest point. In total, the number of loans grew by more than a third across the whole period, even though there was a period where it stayed roughly the same between 2013 and 2015.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Covers all three charts with an accurate overview and clear comparisons; slightly less tightly synthesised than band 9 (the three charts are summarised one after another rather than woven into a single narrative), but every key feature is present.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clear structure, accurate cohesion, easy to follow throughout.
Lexical Resource: Good range for describing proportion and change ("made up", "went up"), accurate throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of sentence forms with good control; rare minor slips.
Band 7
214 wordsSolid and accurate, but reaches for the same sentence pattern repeatedly instead of varying how each comparison is phrased.
The three charts show information about a library in Little Chalfont, including the age of its members in 2016, how loans were divided between different categories in that year, and how the total number of loans changed between 2007 and 2016.
Overall, most members were working-age adults, and they also borrowed the most items, while the total number of loans went up during the ten years, but it slowed a bit near the end.
In 2016, adults between 18 and 64 made up 51% of members, much more than children at 22% and young adults aged 13 to 17 at 15%. Adults 65 and over were the smallest group with only 12%. For loans, children's fiction and adult fiction were the most popular, both at 38%, and adult non-fiction came next with 13%. The other categories like children's non-fiction, young adults, audio books and DVDs were all quite small, none more than 6%.
The total loans increased from 15,700 in 2007 to about 21,100 in 2011, then went down a little in 2012, but after that it went up again and reached the highest number, 21,600, in 2016. Overall, loans grew a lot in this ten years, even though there was a period from 2013 to 2015 when the number did not change much.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: All three charts are covered and the overview identifies the main pattern, but the small loan categories are listed individually rather than grouped into a single "all small" comparison the way the band 8/9 answers do.
Coherence & Cohesion: Logical order with adequate cohesion; some repetition of the same sentence pattern ("X was Y%, much more than Z at W%") across paragraphs.
Lexical Resource: Adequate range; correct but not especially varied word choice for describing trends ("went up", "went down").
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally good control with occasional article errors and one run-on final sentence that would read better split in two.
Band 6.5
193 wordsAll the figures are correct, but "is" is doing the work of half a dozen more precise reporting verbs.
The three chart show information about library in Little Chalfont, include age of member in 2016, how loan is divide between category in that year, and how total loan change between 2007 and 2016.
Overall, most member is working age adult, and they also borrow most item, while total loan go up during ten year, but it slow a bit near the end.
In 2016, adult between 18 and 64 is 51% of member, much more than children at 22% and young adult age 13 to 17 at 15%. Adult 65 and over is smallest group with only 12%. For loan, children fiction and adult fiction is most popular, both at 38%, and adult non-fiction come next with 13%. Other category like children non-fiction, young adult, audio book and DVD is all quite small, none more than 6%.
Total loan increase from 15,700 in 2007 to about 21,100 in 2011, then go down a little in 2012, but after that it go up again and reach highest number, 21,600, in 2016. Overall, loan grow a lot in this ten year, even there is period from 2013 to 2015 when number not change much.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: The key figures from all three charts are present and mostly accurate, and there is an attempt at an overview, but sentence-level errors make some comparisons harder to follow at a glance ("most member is working age adult" requires the reader to infer the actual percentage).
Coherence & Cohesion: Order follows the three charts logically, but cohesion is basic and some sentences read as a near-repeat of the previous one with only the numbers changed.
Lexical Resource: Limited range; "is" functions as an all-purpose verb even where "accounted for" or "made up" would be more accurate.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent article and subject-verb agreement errors ("adult between 18 and 64 is 51%", "children fiction... is most popular") throughout, though the overall meaning and figures remain clear.
Band 4-5 - What to Avoid
136 wordsEvery figure is right, but three charts become three unrelated lists instead of one report.
This chart show library in Little Chalfont. First chart show age of people. Second chart show what book people borrow. Third chart show number of loan every year.
Adult 18 to 64 is 51%. Children is 22%. Young people is 15%. Old people 65+ is 12%. So adult borrow more than other group I think.
For book category, children fiction and adult fiction both is 38%. This is biggest number. Other category like non-fiction, audio book, DVD is small number, not important much.
Number of loan in 2007 is 15,700. In 2016 is 21,600. So it go up. Sometime it go down small bit like 2012, but mostly it go up every year.
In conclusion library is popular with adult people and fiction book, and number of loan become more over time from 2007 to 2016.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Reports each chart's headline figures but adds almost no comparison language ("So adult borrow more than other group I think" is the only real comparison in the whole answer) and never connects the three charts into a single overview: it reads as three short, separate lists. This is the central reason it scores low on Task Achievement, independent of the fact that the figures themselves are accurate.
Coherence & Cohesion: No overview paragraph; each chart gets its own disconnected paragraph with no linking between them.
Lexical Resource: Extremely limited: "is" is used as the only verb for reporting nearly every figure, with no attempt at reporting language like "accounted for" or "rose to".
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent basic errors (missing plurals and third-person forms: "Children is 22%", "it go up") that would need correcting before this answer could be assessed on anything beyond basic accuracy.
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