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 charts illustrates the percentage of British student's speaking english and other languages in 2000 and 2010 at a university in England.

Overall, in 2000, Spanish and no other language was spoken at highest whereas in 2010, no other language, two other languages has more percentage few of languages remained on the same number of percentage in both years.

In 2000, British students spoke no other language at peak by 30% with the spanish which was 10% lower at 20%. French and another language had same number of 15% along with the German and two other languages which were at significant percentage of 10.

In 2010, no other language was increased by 35% whereas Spanish and French remained on the similar percentage of 10%. Two other languages went up by 15%. Another language rose, containing 20% while German remained 10% showing that the British students had similar speaking percentage in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main categories and report several accurate figures, including no other language rising from 30% to 35%, Spanish falling from 20% to 10%, and German remaining at 10%. The overview also recognises that the largest category changed and that some figures stayed constant. However, the overview is unclear when it says “Spanish and no other language was spoken at highest” in 2000: no other language was highest, while Spanish was second. The claim that “two other languages has more percentage” in 2010 is also imprecise, since it rose to 15% but was not among the largest categories. Develop the overall comparison more clearly and distinguish increases, decreases and unchanged figures to make the response more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the two years. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information, and time markers such as “In 2000” and “In 2010” help organise the details. However, the overview’s ideas are compressed into one awkward sentence, and the final sentence combines several comparisons without a clear relationship between them. Phrases such as “whereas,” “along with,” and “while” are used to connect information, but some links are not fully logical or precise. Grouping the categories that rose, fell, or stayed unchanged would create clearer progression and make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “remained,” “rose,” and “increased,” and the language is generally sufficient to communicate the main figures. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate. For example, “at peak by 30%” is not a natural way to describe the largest share, and “remained on the similar percentage” is awkward. “Significant percentage” is also unsuitable for the 10% figures, which are simply proportions. There are spelling and form issues in “english” and “spanish,” and “British student's” should not use a possessive form. Aim for precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “stood at,” and “increased by five percentage points.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur often enough to make some statements difficult to read. In the opening, “The charts illustrates” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “British student's speaking” uses an incorrect possessive construction. In the overview, “Spanish and no other language was spoken at highest” has agreement and article problems. The sentence beginning “French and another language had same number” also needs an article before “same number.” Some longer sentences, particularly the final sentence, join several ideas without a clear grammatical structure. Practise accurate agreement and build comparisons in shorter, controlled clauses before adding complexity.

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