Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04

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 provided chart depicts the information regarding comparison between languages that students in a university are able to speak in addition to English in two different years, 2000 and 2010.

In an overview, it is quite evident that, number of students with no other language remains the highest with some increment in second phase, while pupils with French language decreased and became equal to Spanish, whereas students with another language and two other language increased by same proportion.

In 2000, students who can speak Spanish only plummeted from 20% to 10% in 2010. While, pupils with two other language rose from 15% to 20%, whereas students who can speak German only remains completely stagnated at 10% in both 2000 and 2010.

In contrast, infants who are able to speak French only dropped from 15% to 10% in second phase. However, another language students records an increased from 15% to 20%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting the main features and making relevant comparisons between 2000 and 2010. You provided a clear overview at the beginning, noting that students with no other language remained the highest category and saw an increase. However, some parts of your response are slightly under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, when describing Spanish speakers, you stated that they plummeted from 20% to 10% in 2010, which is accurate, but your sentence structure conflated the timeline. Furthermore, referring to university students as infants is a significant factual and contextual error that detracts from the quality of the response. Despite these issues, the core trends are appropriately identified and supported with figures from the charts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information logically into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used to separate the different categories of languages. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is not always clear, which prevents the response from achieving a higher band. For example, transition phrases like 'In 2000, students who can speak Spanish only plummeted from 20% to 10% in 2010' mix time frames awkwardly. Additionally, cohesive devices such as 'while', 'whereas', and 'however' are overused or slightly repetitive, creating a somewhat formulaic flow. The logical progression between sentences occasionally falters due to abrupt shifts in the data being compared.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the main trends with words such as 'increment', 'plummeted', 'stagnated', and 'dropped'. You attempt to use less common vocabulary, but this is accompanied by some noticeable errors in word choice and collocation. For example, using the word 'infants' to describe university students is an inappropriate lexical choice that impedes communication. Other minor inaccuracies include 'with some increment in second phase' instead of 'in the second phase'. While spelling is generally accurate, the limitations in precise word selection and occasional awkward collocations mean the lexical range remains at a moderate level for this type of academic writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede overall communication. Examples of grammatical lapses include subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'number of students... remains' (should be 'remain') and 'another language students records an increased' (should record 'an increase' and plural agreement). Article usage is also inconsistent in places, such as missing articles before 'second phase' or 'two other language'. Despite these recurring errors, you maintain control over basic sentence patterns, allowing your meaning to be understood.

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

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