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.

Spanish experienced a major decline of 10% in the year 2010 as compared to past. The students preference for French also decreased to 10% 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 identifies the main features of the charts, providing an overview and comparing data between 2000 and 2010. Key statistics such as the increase in monolingual students from 30% to 35% and the decline in Spanish speakers from 20% to 10% are accurately reported. However, the student incorrectly refers to the visual data as a 'bar chart' rather than pie charts, and describes the data as showing 'Spanish, French, German and other languages spoken' rather than the proportions of students. Furthermore, the overview sentence is somewhat confusingly phrased. Despite these minor lapses, all parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, earning a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into four paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and subsequent body paragraphs detailing specific trends. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall,' 'in contrast,' and 'as compared to past.' However, progression is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive transitional structures. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraphing could be structured more effectively to group related data points together. Overall, the writing maintains a coherent structure that is easy to follow despite minor mechanical cohesion issues.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'monolingual,' 'proportion,' and 'gradual drop.' However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'Another language speaking capacity rose' and 'students preference for French.' The misuse of 'bar chart' instead of 'pie chart' also impacts the lexical precision. While communication is not impeded and the range is sufficient to convey the main points, the vocabulary remains somewhat repetitive and basic in places.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as missing articles ('the students preference') and prepositional errors ('spoken by British students at a university... between the years'). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the meaning of the sentences remains clear. Punctuation is generally acceptable, supporting a band 6 level of grammatical control.

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

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