Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-09

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 information about the proportions of British scholars at one university in England who were capable of interacting in other languages in addition to English, in 2000 and 2010 is depicted by pie charts.

It can be vividly seen that spanish was spoken by 20% in 2000; however, in the case of 2010, it was reduced by 10%. 30

% of british schoolgoers were able to speak only english in 2000, whereas it was 5% more in 2010. Probing ahead, french speakers were increased by 5% in 2010, as the figure in 2000 (15%) as opposed to the figure in 2010 (10%).

Moving towards the rest of the information, the students who spoke german language remained same at 10% in both, 2000 and 2010. Moreover, scholars who knew more than two languages rose by 5% in 10 years whilst other language spokers dropped by 5%, 20% in 2010 and 15% in 2000.

Overall, languages spoken by students in 2000, did not reported a drastic change except spanish language student speakers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant categories and report some accurate figures: Spanish falls from 20% to 10%, German remains at 10%, and the no-other-language group rises from 30% to 35%. However, the response only partially summarises the charts. The overview says there was no “drastic change” except for Spanish, but misses the important overall pattern that the proportion speaking no other language increased and the groups speaking another language or two other languages also grew. There is also a significant misreading: French falls from 15% to 10%, rather than increasing, and the statement that other-language speakers dropped is inconsistent with the figures, which rise from 15% to 20%. A clearer, accurate overview and more reliable comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two paragraphs of comparisons, and a concluding overview. This gives the reader some organisation, and transitions such as “Moreover” and “Moving towards the rest of the information” signal movement between points. However, progression is not consistently clear because the comparisons are grouped loosely, and the final overview repeats a broad claim rather than synthesising the main trends. Some linking is also awkward or confusing: “as the figure in 2000 … as opposed to the figure in 2010” makes the French comparison difficult to follow, while “whilst” joins figures whose direction is then reported inaccurately. Grouping the increases together and the decreases or unchanged figures together, with clear references to each year, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of vocabulary to describe the charts, including “proportions,” “depicted,” “remained,” and “rose,” and the meaning is generally recoverable. However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise for this task. “British scholars” and “schoolgoers” do not accurately suit university students, while “interacting in other languages” is less precise than saying they could speak them. “Other language spokers” is an incorrect word form, and “vividly seen” is an awkward collocation in a factual report. Capitalisation is also inconsistent in “spanish” and “british.” Aim for straightforward, accurate chart vocabulary rather than ornate phrasing; this will make comparisons clearer and reduce noticeable word-choice and spelling problems.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, using contrast clauses such as “whereas” and “whilst.” However, errors occur frequently, and some sentence structures make the comparisons hard to interpret. For example, “french speakers were increased by 5% in 2010” has an incorrect passive construction and does not express the actual direction of change. “the students who spoke german language remained same” is missing grammatical elements, and “languages spoken by students in 2000, did not reported” contains faulty tense and verb form. Punctuation also disrupts the sentence beginning “30 %,” which is separated from the preceding text. Practise accurate comparative structures, such as “the proportion speaking French fell from 15% to 10%,” and check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries.

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

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