Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-07
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 5.0)
The two pie charts show the percentage of British students at a university in England who could speak languages other then English in 2000 and 2010.
Overall, Spanish was most popular additional language in both years. The percentage of student who could speak only English decreased while the proportions speaking another languages or two other languages increased.
In 2000 30% of the students could speak Spanish. making it the most common languages 20% could speak no other while French was spoken
by 15% of students. German and two other languages were each spoken by 10%. The remaining 15% could speak another language. In 2010 the percentage speaking Spanish increased to 35%. The figure for students speaking another languages also rose from 15% to 20%. Similarly, those who could speak two other languages increased from 10% to 15%.
In contrast the percentage of students who spoken no other languages fell from 20% to 10% French also decreased from 15% to 10% while German remained unchanged at 10%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response includes an overview and attempts to compare the two years, but its central reporting of the data is substantially inaccurate, which makes the account only minimally successful. It says Spanish rose from 30% to 35%, whereas the charts show it fell from 20% to 10%; it also reverses the figures for students speaking no other language, claiming a fall from 20% to 10% instead of a rise from 30% to 35%. The overview consequently identifies Spanish as the most popular additional language in both years, which is not supported by the charts. Some details are accurate, including the increases for another language and two other languages and the unchanged German figure. Check each category against the chart before selecting the main features.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a brief overview, and paragraphs comparing the figures across the two years. The contrast marker “In contrast” helps signal the final comparisons, and “Similarly” links the increases. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear, and punctuation occasionally disrupts the flow. For example, “In 2000 30% ... Spanish. making it...” incorrectly separates a sentence from its continuation, while the French detail runs into the next clause without a clear sentence boundary. The overview also groups trends logically, but because some figures are misreported, the progression does not consistently support an accurate comparison. Use clear sentence boundaries and organise the details into reliable groups of increases, decreases, and unchanged figures.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for describing pie-chart data, with useful terms such as “percentage,” “proportions,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “remained unchanged.” These allow the reader to follow the intended comparisons. However, there are noticeable word-choice, form, and spelling problems: “other then English” should be “other than English,” “most common languages” is an awkward plural, and “another languages” is not the correct form. “Most popular” is also imprecise for describing the largest chart category, particularly when the data are misread. Aim for accurate, consistent chart language such as “the proportion of students who spoke...” and check spelling and singular/plural forms before submitting.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response uses a mixture of simple sentences and some more developed comparisons, including “The percentage ... decreased while the proportions ... increased” and “German remained unchanged at 10%.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and punctuation occur often enough to affect accuracy. Examples include “the percentage of student,” “students who spoken,” and “Spanish. making it,” where the sentence is incorrectly divided. The opening also needs an article in “Spanish was most popular additional language.” Practise checking subject–verb agreement and past-tense forms, and make sure each sentence has a complete main clause. More accurate control of these patterns would make the comparisons easier to read.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.