Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 chart compares the percentage of British students who can speak languages other than English in a university in England from 2000 to 2010.

Overall, the proportion of students who can speak no other language, and french only increased, while French students and students fom Spain decreased and the highest figures were of those students who were not able to speak any other language in both time periods.

In 2000, the figures for students who were not able to speak any other language, French only students, and students who spoke two others languages were at 30%, 15% and 10% respectively. It increased to 35%, 20% and 15% respectively in next 10 years.

On the contary, the percentage of students who were able to speak Spanish stood at 20% and students who spoke French were 15% in 2000 but in 2010, only 10% of students were knew Spanish and French. Finally, whereas every language percentage either increased or decreaed the German only students remained same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall pattern that the no-other-language group was largest in both years, and you report several relevant figures accurately: for example, this group rose from 30% to 35%, while German-only remained at 10%. However, the overview is partly unclear and contains a factual error: French-only fell from 15% to 10%, rather than increased. The phrase “French students and students fom Spain decreased” also does not clearly distinguish French-only speakers from students speaking another language. Some categories are omitted from the detailed comparison, and “only 10% of students were knew Spanish and French” is grammatically unclear about which groups the figure describes. A more precise overview and systematic comparison of all categories would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs comparing figures. The contrast signalled by “On the contrary” and the closing comparison of German-only speakers help the reader follow the main direction of the data. However, progression is sometimes weakened by unclear references and grouping. For instance, “It increased” refers to three separate categories, while “French students” could mean French speakers or students from France. The final sentence combines several trends without specifying each category, and “Finally” does not introduce a distinct final data point. Use one comparison at a time, name each category consistently, and connect the figures explicitly to 2000 and 2010 to make cohesion more reliable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “proportion,” “percentage,” “figures,” and “remained same,” and the language is generally sufficient to communicate the broad comparisons. However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice problems reduce precision: “contary,” “decreaed,” and “fom” are misspelled, while “French students” is an imprecise label for students who speak French. “Two others languages” and “were knew Spanish” are also awkward expressions. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the general topic, but they make some details difficult to interpret. Aim for accurate category labels such as “French-only speakers” and “students speaking two other languages,” and proofread spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the contrast clause beginning “whereas” and the sentence comparing the two years. The main message is usually understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In “only 10% of students were knew Spanish and French,” the verb construction is incorrect; use “only 10% spoke Spanish, and 10% spoke French.” “It increased to 35%, 20% and 15% respectively” has an unclear singular pronoun referring to three groups, and “in next 10 years” is missing an article. There are also problems with plural forms and sentence punctuation. Build accuracy by checking subject–verb structure, articles, and whether pronouns clearly refer to one category; then vary sentence patterns while keeping comparisons precise.

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

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