Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-16

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 charts illustrates the share of British students at one university in England who were able to communicate in other languages other than English in 2000 and 2010.

In 2000 the least percentage of students were able to speak German and two other languages and the highest percentage of the students were not able to speak any other language. In 2010 the highest percentage of the students were not able to speak any other language and the least percentage of students were able to speak German,Spanish and French.

In the first pie chart the students who were able to speak German and two other languages were 10%. Students speaking French and another language is 15%. Students speaking Spanish is 20% and students who were not able to speak any language is 30%. Second pie chart shows the students with 35% were not able to speak any other language. Students speaking Spanish,French and German are 10%. Students who were able to speak two other languages is 15% and the students who were speaking another language are 20%,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad pattern that “No other language” is the largest category in both years, and you include several relevant figures. However, the overview is incomplete and some comparisons are inaccurate: in 2000, German and two other languages were tied at 10%, not uniquely the least; in 2010, Spanish and French were 10%, but German was also 10%, so these three were tied. More importantly, the report does not clearly describe the main changes between years, such as Spanish falling from 20% to 10%, while “Another language” and “Two other languages” rose. The phrase “not able to speak any language” also misrepresents the chart, which means no language other than English. Select the key trends and compare them explicitly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an opening sentence, a summary of the highest and lowest categories, and details for each year. This makes the general subject understandable. However, progression is limited because the body mostly lists categories and figures rather than organising them around meaningful comparisons. Repeated openings such as “Students speaking…” and “Students who…” make the report sound list-like, while the transition from the overview to the details does little to connect the years. Some punctuation, including the comma after “German” and “Spanish,” also makes the lists harder to read. Grouping the figures that increased, decreased, or stayed unchanged would create a clearer line of development.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “pie chart,” and “speak,” and the reader can generally understand the categories being described. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repetitive or imprecise. “Communicate in other languages other than English” is redundant, and “not able to speak any language” incorrectly suggests that students could not speak English. The repeated wording “students speaking” also limits variety. Use the chart’s category labels consistently and choose precise terms for changes, such as “rose,” “fell,” or “remained stable.” This would make the description more concise and accurate without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with some attempts to combine information using “and” and “who.” Errors are frequent enough to make the writing less controlled, although the main meaning is usually recoverable. For example, “The pie charts illustrates” has a subject–verb agreement error; it should be “The pie charts illustrate.” In “the least percentage of students were,” the singular noun “percentage” does not agree with “were,” and the construction is awkward. Tense also shifts between past and present (“were” and “is”), despite describing data from two past years. Work on agreement, consistent past-tense reporting, and sentence variety, and check punctuation in lists.

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

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