Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given pie charts illustrate the information about British students able to speak languages other than English in two differnt year 2000 and 2010. The data has been calibrated in percentage.

Overall, the maximum proportion of students do not know other language, while inverse case can be seen in german spoken by British pupils in both years.

In 2000, the highest percentage British students did not speak other language with 30% which was closely trailled by only Spanish language speakers, speakers of French language only and another language speakers with 20%,15% and 15% respectively. An identical case can seen between only german language speakers and two other languages speakers with 10%. Moreover french speakers and another language was spoken by same proportion British students with 15%.

Moving further, in 2010, equal proportion of British pupils spoken Fench, Spanish and German with 10%. Also, no other language was sopken by 35% of British students which was led by another language and two other language speakers with 20% and 15% correspondingly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the two years and report several relevant figures, including the rise in “No other language” from 30% to 35% and the 2010 shares for French, Spanish and German. However, the overview is not fully accurate: German was not the smallest category in both years, since it tied with two other languages in 2000 and was the smallest in 2010 alongside French and Spanish. The claim that Spanish-only speakers were second-highest in 2000 is also incorrect; Spanish was 20%, while French and another language were both 15%. Some comparisons are repeated or unclear, and the response does not clearly summarise the main changes across the decade. Select the key rises and falls accurately and make the overview more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2000 and 2010. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information. However, progression within the 2000 paragraph is weakened by repetition: French and another language are first grouped together at 15%, then mentioned again in “Moreover”. Connectors such as “Moving further” and “Also” are used mechanically, and “which was led by” does not clearly show the relationship between the categories. Group figures by meaningful similarities or changes, and use clearer links such as “by contrast” or “while”. More precise referencing would also help readers follow which category each comparison concerns.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportion”, “percentage” and “speakers”, and attempt alternatives such as “pupils” and “correspondingly”. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “the maximum proportion” is unnatural for the largest share, “inverse case” is unclear, and “closely trailled” does not express the intended comparison. There are also spelling errors, including “differnt”, “trailled”, “Fench” and “sopken”. Use standard chart language consistently—for example, “the largest share”, “the smallest proportion” and “accounted for”—and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the reader can usually identify the figures being discussed. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence construction, articles, agreement and verb forms sometimes make the message difficult to process. Examples include “the maximum proportion of students do not know other language”, “the highest percentage British students did not speak”, and “An identical case can seen”. In the 2010 paragraph, “British pupils spoken” also lacks a correctly formed verb phrase. Practise complete patterns such as “the proportion of students who spoke…” and “X accounted for…”. Check articles and verb forms, and avoid joining several comparisons into a sentence unless their grammatical relationships are clear.

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

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