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 proportion 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 increased 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 student's 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 successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the charts and making relevant comparisons. An overview is provided, noting that multilingualism was common and highlighting trends such as the increase in monolingual students and those speaking two other languages. Key data points are accurately cited, such as the rise in monolingual students from 30% in 2000 to 35% in 2010, and the drop in Spanish speakers from 20% to 10%. However, there is a slight inaccuracy in stating that French decreased to 'a half from 15%' (it dropped from 15% to 10%, which is a decrease of one-third, not a half). Despite this minor miscalculation, the key trends and comparisons are generally well-supported and address the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall progression and is divided into appropriate paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then supporting body paragraphs detailing specific data. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'in contrast', and 'Whereas'. However, some of the referencing and transitions are slightly awkward or mechanical, such as 'which complemented rise in rate of the two other languages', which disrupts the natural flow. Paragraphing is adequate, but the logical links between sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common phrases such as 'proportion', 'monolingual students', and 'major decline'. However, there are notable lexical and collocation errors, such as 'Another language speaking capacity' instead of 'The proportion of students speaking another language', and 'decreased to a half from 15%' where mathematical phrasing is imprecise. Word choice is occasionally unnatural, but the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main message clearly without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and comparative forms ('The trends for speaking two other languages... were increasing, in contrast Spanish and French recorded...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including missing articles ('the proportion of Spanish, French...', 'as compared to past'), passive/active confusion ('the ability to speak more than one language by students was recorded higher'), and preposition errors. While these errors occur regularly, they do not impede communication, placing the response solidly in Band 6.

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

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