Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

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 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%. The number of students speaking Another language 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, etc.) and highlighted the key trends, such as the decline in students speaking no other language and the rise in multilingualism. However, the report could be improved by ensuring the data points are more precise. For example, stating that Spanish 'fluctuated from 30 to 35%' is slightly inaccurate as the chart shows a specific increase. Additionally, ensure that the distinction between 'another language' and 'two other languages' is clearly articulated to avoid confusion. Overall, you have provided a clear summary that addresses the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs that group information effectively. You use cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Overall', and 'while' to connect ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be improved to better link the general trends to the specific data points. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the progression of ideas is generally clear throughout the text, making it easy for the reader to follow your analysis.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly, using terms like 'proportions', 'fluctuated', 'multilingual', and 'upward trend'. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is appropriate for an academic task. However, there are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'increased their contribution', which is not the most natural way to describe statistical growth. Additionally, the repetition of 'contribution' and 'proportion' slightly limits the sophistication of the response. Expanding your repertoire of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The pie charts compare the proportions of British students... who could speak other languages'. While most sentences are clear, there are some grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'in both periods of 2000 and 2010' is slightly awkward; 'in both 2000 and 2010' would be more natural. There are also minor issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the errors do not impede communication. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring greater precision in tense usage would improve your accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.