Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-06
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 pie charts illustrates the proportions of British students at one university in England who were able to speak other languages besides english, in 2000 and 2010.
Overall, the most significant proportion of the students in both years were those who were not interseted in speaking other languages, whereas all other figures were fluctuating throughtout the decade.
In 2000, the 30% of the students were those who were not interseted in speaking other languages which was the largest proportion of the students. The second significant proportion of students were those who speak spanish which was about one fifth of the total. The students who speak french and another languages were equal in percentile which was about 15%, whereas the smallest speakers were of German and two other languages that was one tenth of the total.
In 2010, the percentage of students who were not interseted in speaking other languages increased and remained most significant. The proportion of students speaking another language and two other languages was also increased by 5%. While the remaining languages like Spanish, French and German stayed at 10%.
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 addresses the task partially, covering the main features of the charts in 2000 and 2010, but the interpretation of the data is flawed in places. For instance, the student states that students who were 'not interested in speaking other languages' formed the most significant proportion, whereas the chart labels this category simply as 'No other language'. Furthermore, some comparisons are imprecise, and the overview mischaracterises the data somewhat by stating that figures were fluctuating throughout the decade when many categories remained stable or changed linearly. To move to a higher level, the student needs to accurately interpret chart categories without adding outside assumptions, and ensure all key trends are clearly and correctly highlighted.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
There is some organisation evident with a clear division into introduction, overview, and body paragraphs focusing on separate years. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the logical flow is hampered by mechanical and repetitive cohesive devices, such as 'The second significant proportion of students were those who speak...' and 'The students who speak...'. Paragraphing is used, but referencing within the text is sometimes unclear. To improve, the student should employ a wider and more natural variety of linking words and ensure that ideas are sequenced more fluidly to guide the reader seamlessly through the comparison of data.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical range is limited but minimally adequate to communicate the basic information in the charts. The student uses basic vocabulary repetitively, such as 'proportion', 'significant', and 'students', alongside noticeable errors in word choice and form, most notably 'interseted' instead of 'interested' and 'percentile' instead of 'percentage'. Additionally, describing students as 'not interseted' misrepresents the category label from the chart. To achieve a higher score, the student must expand their vocabulary range, use less common lexical items accurately, and pay closer attention to precise word choices and correct spelling.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response shows a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple and straightforward complex forms. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as article misuse ('the 30% of the students'), incorrect pluralisation ('the smallest speakers were of German'), and awkward prepositional phrases. These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To progress, the student needs to demonstrate a greater variety of complex sentence structures with improved control over grammar, articles, and subject-verb agreement to ensure that the majority of sentences are error-free.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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