Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-15

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 5.0)

The pie chart, illustrates 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. It is clearly seen that, there were more students in 2000 compared to 2010, who were able to speak other languages than English.

Merely, percentage of students got increased by 5% in speaking another (from 15% to 20%) or two other languages (from 10% to 15%) compared to students in 2000. Whereas, students in 2000 were more skilled, except 30% of students, every student could speak languages other than English. In 2000, Spanish (20%), French (15%) and German (10%) were those languages which were also spoken by students.

In 2010, after a decade, students were observed less skilled as 35% of students were only able to speak English language. Spanish, French and German languages speaking students were at an equal ratio with 10% percentage each.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the two years and report several relevant figures, including the increases for “another” and “two other languages” and the 2010 share speaking no other language. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “there were more students in 2000” suggests a change in student numbers, whereas the charts compare proportions. The claim that students were “more skilled” is an unsupported judgement, and the response does not clearly summarise the main overall pattern: the no-other-language group grew, while Spanish and French declined and German stayed unchanged. You also give only limited comparisons and omit some useful detail. The response is 129 words, below the 150-word minimum; 25 words copied from the prompt were not counted. Develop a precise overview and compare the categories directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, a paragraph about changes, and a final paragraph focused on 2010. This gives the reader some organisation, and time markers such as “In 2000” and “In 2010” help distinguish the years. However, progression is not consistently clear. The opening claim about “more students in 2000” is not connected clearly to the proportions shown, and “Whereas” begins a fragment-like contrast rather than a complete, well-linked comparison. “Merely” is also an awkward transition, while “except 30% of students” makes the relationship between the figures difficult to follow. Group the categories by trend and use clear links such as “by contrast” or “while” to make comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportions,” “percentage,” “increased,” and “equal ratio,” and the language is generally understandable. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing data. “More skilled” adds an evaluation that the chart does not support, and “students got increased by 5% in speaking another” is an awkward way to describe a rise in the share of students. “Spanish, French and German languages speaking students” is also difficult to process. There is some repetition of “students” and “speak,” and “10% percentage” is redundant. Aim for concise, conventional expressions such as “the proportion rose” and “students who spoke Spanish,” while keeping descriptions neutral and factual.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “Whereas” and a time clause in “In 2010, after a decade.” However, errors are frequent enough to make some relationships unclear. The opening has an unnecessary comma after “chart,” and “It is clearly seen that, there were” has faulty punctuation and sentence construction. “Merely, percentage of students got increased” lacks a clear grammatical subject and uses an incorrect verb pattern. The clause beginning “Whereas” is not properly joined to a main clause, and “every student could speak” does not accurately express the chart’s proportions. Practise complete comparisons with accurate subjects and verbs, for example, “The proportion speaking another language rose from 15% to 20%.”

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

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