Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-13

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 illustrates proportion of a university in England where students were speak English as well as other languages.

Overall, it was clear that in 2000 majority of British students can't speak any other language. But most noticeable feature there was a dramatical fall in Spanish and French spoken students.

Firstly, most of British students do not found of speaking other languages like German, Spanish, French and other languages. Meanwhile, this ratio jumps up slightly in 2010 as compared to 2000. Furthermore Spanish and French are second most popular languages in university in 2000. But the students who spoke these languages fall dramatically in 2010. While German speakers remain same in early 2000 at show no change.

In addition students who spoke another languages like Chinese, Japanese, ect contribute 15% share in 2000. Significantly goes up in 2010. Moreover two other languages spoken by students almost as same as another languages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad contrast between the growing share with no other language and the decline in Spanish and French, and you include several relevant figures. However, some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear: Spanish and French were not jointly the second most popular categories in 2000, since Spanish was 20% and French 15%; in 2010, “another language” rose from 15% to 20%, while two other languages rose from 10% to 15%, but these increases are not stated. The claim that most students did not speak German, Spanish, French and other languages misrepresents the chart, which reports separate categories. The overview also says the majority could not speak another language, although this was 30% in 2000 and 35% in 2010, not a majority. Select the main shifts accurately and summarise them more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable opening, overview and body paragraphs, and sequencing words such as “Overall,” “Firstly,” and “In addition” help signal movement between points. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the first body paragraph combines the no-other-language category with several language-specific trends, while the final paragraph introduces increases without giving the 2010 figures. Some linking words create awkward or incomplete relationships, as in “While German speakers remain same…” and “Significantly goes up in 2010.” Use one paragraph to compare the main categories and another for the remaining changes, and connect each comparison explicitly to both years. Clearer referencing would also help readers follow which proportion each sentence describes.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportion,” “dramatic fall,” “popular languages,” and “contribute,” and these choices show an effort to describe trends rather than simply list categories. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “a dramatical fall” and “students who spoke these languages fall dramatically” are not natural descriptions of the chart, while “do not found of speaking” does not convey the intended idea clearly. “Another languages” and “ect” also weaken precision. Build a reliable set of chart expressions—such as “the proportion speaking Spanish declined” and “the share rose”—and check word forms and spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use some longer sentence forms, including contrasts introduced by “But” and “While,” and the overall meaning can often be inferred. However, the range is limited and errors occur frequently in basic sentence construction, verb forms, agreement and articles. Examples include “students were speak English,” “most of British students do not found,” and “German speakers remain same.” The sentence “Significantly goes up in 2010” lacks a clear subject, and “two other languages spoken by students almost as same as another languages” is not grammatically complete. Practise accurate simple comparisons first, then combine them with clauses: for example, “The proportion speaking German remained at 10%, whereas the figure for Spanish fell.” Check that every sentence has a subject and a correctly formed verb.

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