Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-15

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 bar chart illustrates the porportion of Spanish, French, German and other languages spoken by British students at a university in England between the years 2000 and 2010. The results were measured in percentages.

Overall, the ability to speak more than one language by students was recorded higher, as compared to solely relying on English. The trends for speaking two other languages at the same time were increasing, in contrast Spanish and French recorded a gradual drop after a time.

Another language speaking capacity rose by 5% in the year 2010 as compared to past, which complemented rise in rate of the two other languages. The monolingual students increase from 30% in 2000 to 35% in 2010.

Whereas, Spanish experienced a major decline of 10% in the year 2010 as compared to past. The students preference for French also decreased to a half from 15%. German was the only language which remained stable throughout those years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses the main features of the charts, providing an overview and making relevant comparisons between 2000 and 2010. For example, the student correctly notes that monolingual students increased from 30% to 35% and that German remained stable at 10%. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting the data: the text states that Spanish experienced a major decline of 10% (dropping from 20% down to 10%), but refers to French decreasing 'to a half from 15%' when the chart shows it went from 15% to 10% (a drop to two-thirds, not a half). Despite these minor misinterpretations of specific data points, the response successfully covers the key trends and fulfills the prompt's requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing specific data points, demonstrating an overall logical progression. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall,' 'In contrast,' and 'Whereas,' although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or awkward (e.g., 'Another language speaking capacity... which complemented rise in rate'). Paragraphing is generally appropriate, grouping related information together. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally become faulty due to phrasing issues, which prevents the response from achieving a higher band in this category.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'monolingual,' 'stable,' and 'gradual drop.' However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'porportion' instead of 'proportion' and awkward phrasings like 'Another language speaking capacity.' Furthermore, the misuse of 'to a half' instead of a decrease by one-third for French indicates occasional inaccuracies in precision. These errors do not impede communication, allowing the response to sit comfortably at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures (e.g., 'The trends for speaking two other languages at the same time were increasing, in contrast Spanish and French recorded a gradual drop'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, such as 'The ability to speak more than one language by students was recorded higher' (passive voice misuse) and 'The monolingual students increase' (tense agreement error). While these errors occur frequently, they rarely impede the overall meaning and communication of the data.

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

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