Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-29
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 percentages of British students at an individuals university in England who were able to speak other languages, in 2000 and 2010. Figures was measured in the percentages.
Overall, it can be seen that in both years, majority students were speak no other language. while, the German's percentages recorded no changes in both the years.
After analyzing pie charts, it is evident that the proportions of Spanish in 2000 was 20%, this number was decreased in 2010 approximately 10 percentage. In 2000, French' percentage shown 15%, slightly decline in 2010 which was 10%. the highest percentage was no other language in both the year 2000 and 2010 at 30 and 35 respectively.
Turning to the other language, by 2000, students able to speak another language accounted 15% and 20 % in 2010. lastly, the two other languages were 10 % in 2000, slight rise 15% in 2010.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| 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, providing data points for both 2000 and 2010. The student correctly identifies the dominant category ('no other language') and reports trends for Spanish, French, and other languages. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting the precise data from the visual prompts, such as stating that Spanish decreased by '10 percentage' rather than to 10%, and some data descriptions are slightly mechanical or underdeveloped. Despite these limitations, all parts of the prompt are addressed, and an overview is provided in the second paragraph, aligning the response with Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged logically with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific data points. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, with the second paragraph being very brief. Cohesive devices are occasionally used inaccurately or mechanically, such as 'while, the German's percentages recorded no changes' and 'Turning to the other language, by 2000...'. Referencing and linking between sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band score, making Band 5.5 an accurate reflection of current control.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting words like 'proportions', 'percentages', and 'declined'. However, there are numerous lexical and collocation errors, such as 'an individuals university', 'majority students were speak', 'German's percentages', and 'percentage shown 15%'. Word choice is frequently awkward or unidiomatic, restricting the lexical score to Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are frequent errors in verb forms and sentence structure, such as 'Figures was measured', 'students were speak', 'the proportions of Spanish in 2000 was 20%, this number was decreased', and 'students able to speak another language accounted 15%'. Punctuation is also faulty in places, with lowercase letters starting sentences and comma splices. These persistent errors place the response firmly at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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