Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the proportions of British students at one university in England who were able to speak other languages in addition to English, in 2000 and 2010

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

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The pie charts illustrate the percentage of British students at one university in England who could speak other languages along with English, in 2000 and 2010. The data is measured in percentages.

Overall, in the both years, British students had not learned any other languages, while the smallest number of students were spoken German language in 2000 and 2010.

To begin with, in 2000, the highest number of people were not able to speak any other languages, it was above a quarter. It followed Spanish 20%. French and another language learner had identical (one third). Germany and two other language learners also accounted for 10%.

Turning to 2010, number of learners who have not learned any other languages

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is significantly under the required word count, which severely limits your ability to fully address the task. You have failed to complete the description of the 2010 data, leaving the summary incomplete. While you identified some main features, such as the 'no language' category, the lack of a full analysis and the failure to reach the minimum length requirement mean that the task is only partially addressed. To improve, ensure you provide a comprehensive overview of all data points and make clear comparisons between the two years, ensuring you meet the minimum word count to allow for full development of your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is poorly structured due to its incomplete nature. While you attempt to use cohesive devices like 'To begin with' and 'Turning to', the abrupt ending of the text disrupts the logical flow. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is a sentence fragment that fails to convey information. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that you complete your analysis of the data before moving to the next point. Better use of linking words to compare the two years (e.g., 'in contrast to', 'whereas') would also improve the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and lacks precision. For example, you use 'number of' and 'learners' repeatedly. There are also some awkward phrasings, such as 'smallest number of students were spoken German language', which is grammatically incorrect and imprecise. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider range of vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'accounted for', 'constituted', or 'represented', and ensure that your word choices are grammatically appropriate for the context of describing statistical data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'in the both years', 'students were spoken German', and 'French and another language learner had identical'. These errors indicate a lack of control over basic sentence structures and subject-verb agreement. You rely on simple sentence structures, and there is a lack of complex grammatical forms. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically passive voice for describing data (e.g., 'German was spoken by...') and ensuring correct article and preposition usage.

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

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