Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-21

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 two given charts illustrate the proportions of British students in a particular university having the ability to speak other languages, except for English, between 2000 and 2010.

Overall, the proportion of students who are not capable of speaking other languages in addition to english solidified its first postion in both two years. Additionally, the linguistic ability of students in 2010 are balancely distributed compared to its figure in 2000

The proportion of students who can speak two languages making up 10% ranked at the last in 2000 while its figure in 2010 was marginally 5 points higher. The ability of speaking another language continuely went up, climbing form 15% in 2000 to 20% in 2010. Similarly, the figure for students with no other languages experienced an increase from 30 to 35% throughout the period

Turning to other categories, in 2000, students who speak spanish stood at 20%, a twofold increase compared to its figure in 2010 with just 10%. The figure for students who speak french only ranking the last recorded 10% in 2010, 5 points lower than that in 2000. Additionally, The proportion of students who speak german only consistently remained unchanged solidified its ranking

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant changes, including the rise in “No Other Language” from 30% to 35%, the increase in “Another language” from 15% to 20%, and the fall in Spanish from 20% to 10%. However, the overview is unclear: saying the 2010 figures are “balancely distributed” does not accurately summarise the main pattern, since the largest category remains students with no other language. Some comparisons are incomplete or imprecise. For example, the two-language category rises from 10% to 15%, but “ranked at the last” is not a clear description of its position. The German figure is correctly described as unchanged, but its ranking is left unfinished. A clearer overview and more complete reporting of the key categories would make the response more fully address the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing figures. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Turning to other categories” signal a shift in focus. However, the progression within the body paragraphs is not consistently clear: categories are grouped without an evident comparison principle, and the final sentence ends with the unclear phrase “solidified its ranking.” Some linking expressions, including “Additionally” and “Similarly,” are used mechanically rather than to show precise relationships between the data. Referencing is also occasionally confusing, as in “its figure” when the category or year is not immediately clear. Grouping increases together, then decreases and unchanged figures, and using clearer links would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “proportions,” “remained unchanged,” and “increase,” and you attempt less common expressions such as “marginally” and “twofold.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. “Solidified its first position” is not an appropriate way to describe the largest category, while “balancely distributed” and “continuely went up” are incorrect forms. There are also spelling errors, including “postion,” “form,” and “spanish.” Aim for precise, conventional chart language rather than elaborate phrases: for example, say that a category “remained the largest” or “rose by five percentage points.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “while” and “compared to,” but complex constructions are often faulty and errors occur frequently. In “the linguistic ability of students in 2010 are,” the subject and verb do not agree; “the ability … are balancely distributed” also has an unclear grammatical relationship. The phrase “students who speak French only ranking the last recorded 10%” lacks a clear clause structure, and “its figure … was marginally 5 points higher” is awkwardly formed. Capitalisation is inconsistent, as in “english” and “Additionally, The.” Use straightforward sentence patterns to report each figure, checking agreement, clause structure, and punctuation before adding more complex comparisons.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.