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 charts illustrates the percentages of British stodents at one university in England who were able to speak othe languages in addition to english for the years 2000 and 2010.

overall, it is clear that the charts showed a relatively significant variation in all the propotions of the spoken languages.

according to what is shown, in 2000 the leading propotion of 30% was for people who spok no othe languages but english, followed by spanish secondly with 20% , after a non mentioned language and french with the same percentage of 15% , before german and two other not mentioned languages ranking last with th same propotion of 10%

eventually, in 2010 the propotions witnessed a considerable changes, where the percentage of people who spok no other language increased inreased slightly to become 35%, french only also rose with 5% more than the last decade propotion, german and two other languges prevented the same percentage of 15%, and spanish decreased to be 10% less than the last 10 years .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two years and report several key figures, including the 30% with no other language in 2000 and the rise to 35% in 2010. However, some comparisons are inaccurate: French fell from 15% to 10%, rather than rising by five points, and the two-other-languages group rose from 10% to 15%, rather than remaining at 15% in both years. The overview that there was “significant variation in all” proportions is vague and does not clearly summarise the main pattern: the no-other-language group remained the largest, while Spanish declined and the other-language categories generally increased or stayed level. More accurate comparisons and a clearer overview would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, moving from an introduction and overview to a paragraph for each year, so the reader can follow the broad topic. However, progression within the data paragraphs is not always clear. The 2000 figures are presented in a long sequence joined by “followed by,” “after,” and “before,” while the 2010 paragraph combines several changes in one sentence. “Eventually” is also an awkward transition for introducing the second year. Grouping the figures by increases, decreases, and unchanged categories, and using clearer links such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile,” would improve the logical flow. The overview should also be distinct and more informative.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt task-related vocabulary such as “percentages,” “proportion,” “increased,” and “decreased,” and the reader can generally identify the categories being discussed. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems make the report less precise. “A relatively significant variation in all the proportions” is vague, and “a non mentioned language” does not clearly describe the chart’s “another language” category. There are also repeated misspellings, including “stodents,” “propotions,” and “languges,” which reduce accuracy. Use the chart’s category labels consistently and choose precise verbs for trends; proofreading spelling would make your vocabulary more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and some longer structures, including “who were able to speak…” and a comparison introduced with “where.” However, control is uneven, and several sentence patterns are faulty or difficult to follow. For example, “the pie charts illustrates” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “the percentage … increased inreased slightly to become 35%” contains a duplicated verb and an awkward construction. The final sentence also strings several comparisons together without clear grammatical boundaries. Aim for shorter, complete sentences when reporting figures, check agreement and tense, and use punctuation to separate each comparison. These changes would make the information easier to understand.

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