Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-11
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 5.5)
The pie chart illustrates the proportion of British learners that were able to expressed their views in other languages in addition to English, in the two years 2000 and 2010 at one university in England.
Overall, it is clear that majority of the students were able to speak in Spanish in both the years, while approaximately one-third of the students were only speak English.
In 2000, 20% of learners other than English spoken in Spanish only, whereas the proportion was accounted at 15% for French speakers. German and two other languages contributed 10% each of the total speaking languages,while 15% of them were speak in languages that were not listed. However, 30% learners were not able to speak in any other language than English.
In 2010, the speaker of Spanish, French and German made up only 1/10th individually to the total proportion, while the remaining categories raised by 5% learners each. The speaker of other languages and two combined to made up 35% of the total and surprisingly the same proportion of them were not able to speak in any other language.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the charts and makes relevant comparisons between the two years. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by inaccuracies in interpreting the data. For instance, the claim that 'majority of the students were able to speak in Spanish' is incorrect, as Spanish only accounted for 20% and 10% respectively. Additionally, the description of the 2010 data is somewhat confusing, particularly the reference to 'the remaining categories raised by 5%'. While the overview is present, the lack of precision in reporting the data points prevents a higher band score. The response would benefit from more careful data extraction and clearer summarisation of the trends.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on the specific years. There is a clear progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'the speaker of other languages and two combined to made up 35%'. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider range of linking words and ensuring that referencing is more precise to avoid ambiguity.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'able to expressed their views' (should be 'express') and 'the speaker of Spanish... made up only 1/10th individually'. The use of 'approaximately' is a spelling error. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific language, the lack of precision and the repetitive nature of some phrases limit the score. To improve, the student should focus on more accurate collocations and avoid grammatical errors that affect word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'were only speak English' (should be 'only spoke' or 'could only speak'), '15% of them were speak in languages', and 'two combined to made up'. These errors in verb tense and passive voice construction are persistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct verb forms would significantly improve the quality of the writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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