Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-12

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 display the percentage of UK's students who c speak a lanugage other than English, at a university in England in the year of 2000 and 2010.

Overall, while the percentage of students who can only speak English and those who speak another language increased, French and Spanish students decreased. No other language recorded the highest percentage of students over the ten-year period.

In 2000, only English speakers and another language students led with 30% and 15% respectively, which increased to just over a third and a fifth in 2010. Similarly, two other languages speakers were 10% and it also rose by 5 percentage points in 2010.

Conversely, students who were able to speak Spanish and French except English were 20% and 15% respectively. the figures for such students plummted to a tenth in 2010, matching the German students' level in 2017. Finally, German only students remained unchanged in both years at 10% only.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall changes: the share reporting no other language rises, Spanish and French fall, and German remains stable. You also include several accurate figures, such as Spanish at 20% then 10%, and two other languages at 10% then 15%. However, some reporting is unclear or inaccurate. “Only English speakers and another language students led with 30% and 15%” incorrectly suggests both were leading categories; 15% was not the highest, and the 2000 chart also shows French at 15%. “French and Spanish students decreased” is imprecise because the figures represent language categories, not students. The reference to German “in 2017” is an incorrect year. A clearer overview and more precise comparisons would make the key features more fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details for each year and then contrasting trends. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” “Conversely,” and “Finally” help signal relationships between the data. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear: “only English speakers and another language students led” combines categories that do not share the same ranking, while “the figures for such students” has an imprecise reference. The final paragraph also shifts from Spanish and French to German without a particularly smooth transition. Grouping the rising categories together and the falling or unchanged categories together, with clearer references to the chart categories, would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “increased,” “remained unchanged,” and “percentage points,” and these choices help communicate the main trends. However, the range and control are uneven. Phrases such as “another language students,” “French and Spanish students,” and “German students’ level” are awkward because the data describe proportions in language categories, not groups of students. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “lanugage” and “plummted,” and “only English speakers” is less precise than a category-based description. Use consistent terms such as “students speaking only English” and “the proportion in the Spanish-only category,” and check spelling carefully to make the comparisons easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a complex overview beginning “while” and comparisons using “which increased” and “Conversely.” Most of the intended meaning can be followed, but some grammatical choices make relationships unclear. In “only English speakers and another language students led with 30% and 15% respectively,” the structure does not clearly match the categories to their figures. “French and Spanish students decreased” also treats people as the thing that decreased, rather than their proportions. The sentence beginning “the figures” after a full stop should start with a capital letter, and “it also rose” has an unclear pronoun reference. Review sentence boundaries, subject–verb meaning, and pronoun references, while keeping the useful range of comparison structures you have attempted.

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