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 pie charts illustrate the percentages of Britain students at one university in United kingdom who were able to speak other languages in addition to English, between 2000 to 2010.
Overall, English was the most common language in both years, however Spanish was second most common language in 2000 and Another language along with English was in 2010.The percentage of students speaking only German was remain unchanged in both years.
The percentage of students who spoke English remained highest in both years, at 30 and 35,in 2000 and 2010 respectively. By contrast the percentage of students spoke spanish and French decreased from 20 and 15 in 2000,to 10 and 10 in 2010 respectively.
However, proportion of students who spoke another language and two other languages, along with english increased by 5% in 2010.Interestingly, percentage of German speaking students was same in both years, at 10%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main changes, including the rise in “No Other Language” from 30% to 35%, the falls in Spanish and French, and the unchanged German figure. However, the overview misreads the chart: English is not a category, and “another language” is not the second most common category in 2010; it is 20%, below “No Other Language” at 35%. The report also says the two other-language categories increased “by 5%” without clearly distinguishing percentage points from percent. The response is 134 words, below the required 150, and 11 words copied from the prompt were not counted. Add a fuller, accurate overview and develop the comparisons to cover the task more completely.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs reporting details. Comparisons are grouped sensibly, such as the decreases in Spanish and French and the increases in the other-language categories. However, progression is weakened by the inaccurate overview and by the repeated focus on English, which is not represented in the charts. Linking words such as “By contrast,” “However,” and “Interestingly” help signal relationships, but some are not used to introduce a clear contrast, and the final paragraph repeats the German comparison already mentioned. Improve cohesion by organising the report around categories that rose, fell, or stayed stable, and use referencing and transitions precisely.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentages,” “proportion,” “decreased,” “increased,” and “remained unchanged,” so the reader can understand the general comparisons. However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or awkward. “English was the most common language” confuses the language spoken with the chart’s “No other language” category, while “Another language along with English” does not accurately describe the data. There are also spelling and form issues, including “United kingdom,” “spanish,” and “english.” Use the chart’s category labels consistently and choose precise reporting phrases; this will make the comparisons clearer and reduce repetition.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response attempts a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “By contrast” and a sentence comparing several categories. Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors occur across sentence patterns. For example, “The percentage of students spoke” needs a relative clause (“who spoke”), and “was remain unchanged” combines incompatible verb forms. The opening phrase “between 2000 to 2010” also has an incorrect preposition pattern, and punctuation spacing is inconsistent, as in “35,in 2000.” Some sentences are therefore difficult to process smoothly. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and relative clauses, and check articles, verb forms, and punctuation when proofreading.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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