Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-20
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 percentages of British students who can speak different languages apart from English between 2000 and 2010.
Overall, students who cannot speak any second language account for the largest share of the proportion, while the most modest percentage was those who can speak German and Two other languages over the time period shown.
In 2000 and 2010, the highest percentage of students who cannot speak any other language was higher than other catergories and this figure rose from 30% to 35%. The percentage for two other languages speaker was remain unchanged( 10%) throughout the whole period. French speaker, meanwhile, increased only 5% in the time period. This trend was similar for another language speaker, and their figure increased 15% to 20%.
Spanish ,on the other hand, witnessed a declined. Their percentges decrease from 15% and 20% to 10% for each language respectively. However, the percentage of another language speaker increased by 5% after 10-year period.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers all key parts of the prompt, successfully identifying main features such as the dominance of students with no other language and reporting data for various categories across 2000 and 2010. However, there are several data inaccuracies and contradictions in the body paragraphs. For instance, the student states that the percentage for 'two other languages' remained unchanged at 10%, whereas the chart shows it increased from 10% to 15%. Additionally, the final paragraph contains contradictory statements regarding Spanish and 'another language', noting both declines and increases confusingly. Despite these misreadings of the visual data, an overall trend is attempted and the main features are partially outlined. This performance corresponds to a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organised into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. There is a clear attempt to structure the answer logically, beginning with a general summary statement. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In 2000 and 2010', 'meanwhile', and 'on the other hand'. However, referencing and progression are sometimes faulty, particularly in the body paragraphs where transitions are abrupt and sentences feel disjointed due to data confusion. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate for an academic task, supporting a basic level of organization that places this response at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully employing terms like 'percentages', 'illustrate', 'proportion', and 'share'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are often accompanied by inaccuracies or awkward word choices, such as 'catergories', 'two other languages speaker', and 'witnessed a declined'. Spelling errors like 'catergories' and grammatical infelicities such as 'percentges decrease' detract from precision. Nevertheless, the meaning is generally clear despite these lexical and morphological slips, which fits the descriptor for Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time markers (e.g., 'students who cannot speak any second language account for...'). However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are numerous errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the highest percentage... was higher than other catergories and this figure rose', 'The percentage for two other languages speaker was remain unchanged'), tense inconsistencies ('witnessed a declined', 'decrease'), and punctuation errors like missing spaces around commas. These errors frequently cause strain or confusion for the reader, placing this criterion at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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