Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-18

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 given pie charts illustrate the percentage of British learners in an England's universty who knows to speak other languages beside Englisg, between time period of 2000 to 2010.

Overall, students who can't speak any other language are in higher proportion in from start to end of period.However, the trend significantly changed as Spanish and French are plummate. The students who are able to communicate in " another language" and "Two other languages" gradually climbed up in decade.

To begin with, the biggest percentage( 30%) is shared by the students who have no other language except English as well as in 2010 this surged and reach at 35%. Subsequently, the uniliguistic and bilinguists were 15% and 10% in 2000 and it soared by 20% and 15% respectively.

In contrast, According to data Spanish and French speakers accounted for 20% and 15% in 2000 which declined and both made up of equal proprtion 10%. Eventally, In both years German is equally distributed 10%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses the main features of the two pie charts, providing an overview and comparing the data between 2000 and 2010. The major trends are identified, such as the increase in students with no other language and the decline in Spanish and French speakers. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data details, particularly regarding specific percentages and categories (for instance, misinterpreting the trajectory of some groups). The overview is present but somewhat simplistic. Overall, the response covers the task adequately, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs, providing a coherent overall arrangement. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'To begin with', 'Subsequently', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes mechanical or awkward, and paragraphing could be more logically organized. Additionally, punctuation and spacing errors affect the flow. Nevertheless, a clear logical progression is maintained throughout, satisfying the criteria for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items like 'uniliguistic', 'proportion', and 'plummate' (plummet). However, there are notable spelling errors ('universty', 'Englisg', 'uniliguistic', 'Eventally') and awkward word choices ('knows to speak', 'plummate'). While communication is not severely impeded, these lexical inaccuracies and spelling mistakes prevent the response from achieving a higher band. The vocabulary is minimally adequate for conveying the core information, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, students who can't speak any other language are in higher proportion in from start to end of period.' However, the text contains frequent grammatical errors, including missing prepositions ('in from start'), incorrect verb forms ('who knows to speak', 'are plummate'), and awkward phrasing. Complex structures often contain errors that cause some difficulty for the reader, though the meaning is generally decipherable. These characteristics align closely with Band 5.0.

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

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