Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-30
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 charts below show the proportions of british students at one university in england who were able to speak other languages in addition to englishin 2000 and 2010.
Overall, there was a notable reduction in the percentage of students who could speak exclusively English, accompanied by an increase in the number of multilingual students, particularly those speaking Spanish.
In 2000, the data revealed that 20% of students were speaking only English, while by 2010, this figure had decreased to 10%. Conversely, the proportions of students speaking other languages demonstrated a varied pattern. The category of those speaking Spanish exclusively exhibited the most significant rise, increasing from 30% in 2000 to 35% in 2010. Additionally, the subgroup of students who communicated in more than one language, specifically those speaking another language and two other languages, also expanded. The percentage of students conversant in another language rose from 15% to 20%, while those who spoke two additional languages increased from 10% to 15%.
In contrast, the numbers for students speaking only French and German showed stability with slight declines. The proportion of students conversant solely in French declined from 15% to 10%, and the German-speaking subgroup remained unchanged at 10% across both years. This indicates that, while there was a clear shift towards multilingualism, the interest in French language proficiency appeared to diminish over the same period. The overall trends suggest a significant evolution in language acquisition among British students, reflecting broader linguistic and cultural shifts.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student has attempted to summarise the charts, but there are significant data misinterpretations. Most notably, the writer states that '20% of students were speaking only English' in 2000 and that this decreased to 10% in 2010, whereas the ground truth shows 'No Other Language' was 30% in 2000 and 35% in 2010. Furthermore, Spanish is incorrectly cited as rising from 30% to 35% (Spanish was actually 20% in 2000 and 10% in 2010). These misreadings of the chart data directly affect the accuracy of the information reported, preventing the response from reaching a higher band. While an overview is provided and comparisons are attempted, the factual errors in data reporting pull the score down to Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized into clear paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. There is an attempt at logical progression using cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 2000', 'Conversely', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty due to the confusion in data representation. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of languages. Overall, the structural arrangement is coherent enough to follow, though the mechanical links and logical flow are occasionally undermined by the incorrect data interpretation. This fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common phrases such as 'exclusively', 'proportions', 'multilingual students', and 'language acquisition'. However, there are notable lexical and data-interpretation inaccuracies, such as confusing the categories of 'No Other Language' with specific language speakers. Spelling and word choice are generally clear, but the misuse of specific lexical items related to the chart data restricts the score. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general idea, aligning with a Band 6 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate structures successfully (e.g., 'the percentage of students who could speak exclusively English, accompanied by an increase...'). There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing capitalisation on proper nouns like 'british', 'england', and 'english' in the opening sentences. Nonetheless, these errors are relatively minor and rarely impede overall communication. The grammatical control is decent, supporting a Band 6.0 rating.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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