Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-17

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 6.0)

The pie charts compare the proportions of British students at university in England who could speak other languages apart from English in 2000 and 2010.

Overall, Spanish was most popular in both periods of 2000 and 2010, while the proportion of students who spoke no other language declined in 2010 by a margin of 10%. Speakers of two other languages and another language increased their contribution by 5% in 2010. German was the only language whose proportion remained constant in both eras.

In 2000 and 2010, Spanish remained the highest proportion, while there was only a 5% increase in 2010, and it fluctuated from 30 to 35%. French and another language had the same position at the start of the 21st century, but at the end of the first decade, another language outweighed French by a dramatic increase of 5%. The contribution of multilingual language students who spoke two languages rose significantly from 10 to 15%.

In contrast, the percentage of students who spoke no other language fell in the next ten years from 20 to 10%. Another language students experienced an upward trend and showed a slight increase of 5% at the end of the decade. The contribution of German speakers remained stable in both periods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main features and provided relevant comparisons between the two years. You covered all categories (Spanish, French, German, 'another language', and 'no other language') and highlighted key trends such as the decline in students speaking no other language and the rise in multilingualism. However, the analysis is slightly repetitive in the third and fourth paragraphs, where you describe the same trends twice. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is made once with clear supporting data, rather than restating the same information in different ways. Overall, the response is accurate and addresses the prompt well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Overall', and 'while' to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is slightly hindered by the repetition of information between the third and fourth paragraphs. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow could be improved by grouping the data more effectively so that each category is discussed once in relation to the changes over time, rather than splitting the description of the same trends across two paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportions', 'fluctuated', 'outweighed', and 'upward trend'. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'contribution' when referring to the percentage of students, which is slightly unnatural in this context. You also use 'another language' repeatedly, which makes the writing feel a bit mechanical. To improve, try to use synonyms or more precise phrasing to describe the data, such as 'the share of students' or 'the percentage of the cohort'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. Most of your sentences are clear and easy to follow. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'another language students' (which should be 'the percentage of students speaking another language') and 'in both periods of 2000 and 2010' (which is slightly redundant). Punctuation is generally accurate, and these minor errors do not impede communication. To move to a higher band, focus on refining the accuracy of complex noun phrases.

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

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