Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-05
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 4.5)
The charts compare the percentages of British students able to speak languages other than english, over two years, 2000 and 2010.
Overall, it is clear that no other languages were more popular in both years, while German and two other languages were spoken in a small proportion.
In 2000, students had significant capability to spoke no other languages 30%, only 20% learners spoke Spanish, B
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word length requirement of 150 words, stopping abruptly at just 65 words. Because the text is severely truncated, it only partially addresses the task. While the student attempts an introductory statement and an overview, the information presented is extremely limited and incomplete. Key trends and detailed data comparisons between the two years are missing, meaning the response can only respond to the task minimally and cannot fully develop the main features shown in the charts. To achieve a higher band, the response must be extended to meet the word count and provide a comprehensive summary of all major data points.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The writing demonstrates some basic organisation, opening with a standard introductory sentence followed by an overview marker ('Overall, it is clear that...'). However, due to the very short length, overall progression is lacking, and the text breaks off mid-sentence ('B') before any body paragraphs can be properly developed. Paragraphing is attempted with a brief opening and overview structure, but cohesive devices are minimal. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the writer needs to group related data into logical paragraphs and use a wider range of cohesive links to guide the reader smoothly through the comparisons.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication, featuring appropriate terms such as 'percentages', 'popular', and 'proportion'. However, the range is very limited due to the short length of the text. There is also a minor vocabulary error in the introduction, where 'english' is left uncapitalised. The writer attempts some topic-specific language, but cannot demonstrate flexibility or less common lexical items. To reach a higher band, the student should incorporate a wider variety of precise vocabulary and synonyms to describe statistical changes without repetition.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response shows a very limited range of sentence structures, consisting mostly of simple forms. There is a notable grammatical error in the third paragraph: 'students had significant capability to spoke no other languages', where the infinitive should be used ('to speak'). Punctuation is generally fine, but the frequent absence of complex sentence structures and the presence of basic structural errors restrict the score. To improve, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater variety of complex grammatical structures with a higher degree of accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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