Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-14

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 charts illustrate the ratio of students in an England university who are capable to speak other languages among English in 2000 and 2010.

Overall, no other language made up the largest proportion of other spoken languages in both years while, German only shows smallest segment in both years along with two other languages in 2000.

On one hand, in 2000, no other language accounted for a significant share at the ratio of 30% which is comprised slightly to 20% for Spanish only. This is followed by the segments of French and another language along with German and two other language which shared an equal split at the value of 15% and 10% respectively.

While, in terms of 2010, no other language substituted for 35% of total by the students of university. Meanwhile, the slice of another language contributed to 20% while, the proportion of two other language maDe up the 15% of total share. In contrast, Spanish , French and German only were identical ,standing at 10 % separately

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two years, 2000 and 2010. The student correctly identifies key data points, such as the dominance of 'no other language' in both charts (30% in 2000 and 35% in 2010) and notes changes in other categories like Spanish, French, and German. However, some descriptions of the data are slightly confusing or imprecise, such as 'no other language made up the largest proportion of other spoken languages'. The information is generally relevant and accurate, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged coherently with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing each year. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'Overall', 'On one hand', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in the phrasing 'While, in terms of 2010', which disrupts the natural flow of sentences. Paragraphing is present and logically separates the overview from the specific data points, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting to use less common terms like 'proportion', 'segment', 'accounted for', and 'substituted'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'ratio of students... who are capable to speak', 'comprised slightly to 20%', and 'substituted for 35%'. Additionally, there are minor typos such as 'maDe'. These lexical errors do not impede overall communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and mechanics, such as preposition misuse ('capable to speak other languages among English') and awkward syntactic structures ('German only shows smallest segment'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while the errors sometimes make sentences awkward, they rarely impede overall comprehension. This performance aligns with the Band 5.5 descriptors.

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

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