Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The pie charts compare the percentage of British students who were able to speak other languages in two different years, 2000 and 2010.

Overall, the proportion of students who spoke no language increased, and remained the largest group. While Spanish and French became less popular, and there was an rise in the percentage of students speaking another language and two other languages.

In 2000, 30% of students spoke no other language than English. This figure increased from 30% to 35% in 2010. Similarly, two other languages students rose slightly from 10% to 15% in the next 10 years. The students who speaking "another language" were 15%, and they grew by 5 percentage points.

Looking at specific languages, Spanish was most popular single foreign language in 2000 at 20% , but it dropped to 10% only. The figure for French only showed similar downward trend from 20% to same as Spanish percentage. Finally, German only figure remained unchanged at 10% in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You give a clear overview of the main shifts: the no-other-language group remained the largest and increased, while Spanish and French declined and the two additional-language categories grew. Most figures are accurately reported, including Spanish at 20% then 10%, German at 10% in both years, and the rise in “another language” from 15% to 20%. However, the French figures are misreported: French only was 15% in 2000, not 20%, and 10% in 2010. Also, “spoke no language” is imprecise because the chart means no language other than English. The response covers the task and selects relevant comparisons, though this data error and some broad phrasing limit precision.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, with a sensible progression from overall changes to individual language categories. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “Looking at specific languages” help guide the reader, and the comparisons are generally easy to follow. This is a coherent arrangement, but cohesion is not consistently smooth: “While Spanish and French became less popular, and there was…” creates an awkward connection, and “This figure increased from 30% to 35%” repeats information immediately after the preceding sentence. More precise referencing and less repetition would make the progression more fluent and flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage points,” “remained unchanged,” and “downward trend.” These choices help describe changes and comparisons clearly. Some wording is imprecise or unnatural, however: “spoke no language” does not accurately express the chart’s category, and “Spanish and French became less popular” suggests popularity rather than the proportions of students speaking them. There are also awkward phrases such as “two other languages students” and “the same as Spanish percentage.” Aim for accurate collocations and concise chart language, such as “the share of students speaking Spanish fell” and “students who spoke two other languages.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons across years and a subordinate clause beginning “While.” Most of the information remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions reduce control. For example, “there was an rise” has an article error, while “the students who speaking ‘another language’ were 15%” is missing a finite verb form. The sentence beginning “While Spanish and French…” is also incomplete because it lacks a main clause. In “two other languages students rose,” the sentence structure does not clearly identify the students as the subject. Check sentence completeness, verb forms and article use, then vary structures while keeping them accurate.

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