Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-25
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 two graphs below provide the information about the British students who were able to speak more langauges instead of just English at a university in England in 2000 and 2010 year.
Overall the most notable feature is that most of the students were unable to speak other languages in both year in contrast to it, Spanish was second spoken in early period while it would have reduced to lowest proportion in later.
At a glance the data reveals that no other language was spoken by the 30% students in 2000 while it increased to 35% in 2010 in addition, it accounted for the highest percentage, In contrast the Spanish langauge was spoken by 20% in 2000 furthermore it reduced to 10% in 2010.
On the other hand German was spoken by only 10% and its remain relatively unchanged throughout the years. Moreover there was an increased in French language by 5% from 2000 to 2010. However the another language constituted about 15% in 2000 in addition, it accounted for 20% in 2010 as represented second largest proportion in 2010.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the charts, identifying key figures such as the proportions for those with no other language (30% in 2000 to 35% in 2010) and Spanish speakers (20% to 10%). However, there is a factual error regarding French: the student states 'there was an increased in French language by 5%', whereas the visual data shows French actually decreased from 15% in 2000 to 10% in 2010. Furthermore, 'Another language' is misread or misinterpreted as increasing to 20% and representing the second largest proportion, but the student attempts an overview and comparisons overall. Because of the noticeable data inaccuracy regarding French, it falls short of the higher bands.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay is divided into paragraphs containing an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs detailing the categories. However, the logical progression is hindered by heavy reliance on mechanical and repetitive cohesive devices such as 'in addition', 'furthermore', and 'on the other hand' within a single paragraph. Referencing is occasionally awkward, for example, 'while it would have reduced to lowest proportion in later.' Paragraphing is attempted, but sentence-to-sentence flow feels disjointed due to run-on structures and comma splices.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate to convey basic statistical comparisons, using terms such as 'proportion', 'percentage', and 'highest percentage'. However, there are numerous spelling and word choice errors, such as 'langauges', 'increased' used as a noun ('an increased'), and awkward phrasing like 'second spoken in early period'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and natural collocation. These errors do not entirely impede communication, placing the response firmly at band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in tense usage, article omission, and sentence boundary punctuation, such as comma splices ('...accounted for the highest percentage, In contrast the Spanish langauge...'). Prepositional errors also occur, such as 'spoken by the 30% students' and 'throughout the years' instead of 'over the period'. While basic meaning is usually clear, the density of grammatical mistakes keeps the score at band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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