Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-24

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 illustrate the information of British students of a university who spoke english and other foreign languages in 2000 and 2010.

Overall, the foreign languages were not common in 2000 whereas the most popular language was the English. However, majority accounted for the same language as in 2000 while the spanish language was dropped to half from precious one in 2010.

In 2000, students mostly speak the english, accounted for 30% followed by the second speaking language , the spanish stood at 20%. The German and two other languages had equal number of speakers , representing 10% of the total. The french and other language both comprised almost 15 % seperately.

In contrast, by 2010, the largest share secured by the english followed by increased in the French learners. The two other languages increased to 15% while the german stood at same proportion. However, the spanish and the french speakers reduced to 10% from 20% and 15% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two years and report several relevant figures, including Spanish falling from 20% to 10%, German remaining at 10%, and “another language” rising from 15% to 20%. However, the overview misreads the charts: English is not a category, and the 30% and 35% figures represent students speaking no other language. This leads to the inaccurate claim that English was the most popular language. The overview also says foreign languages were “not common” in 2000, although 70% spoke at least one other language. Some comparisons are useful, but the main pattern—more students with no other language, alongside growth in other and two-language categories—is not clearly summarised. Make the overview accurate, then compare the categories consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear four-part structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2000 and 2010. This makes the information easy to locate, and transitions such as “In contrast” help signal the move between years. However, progression is weakened by unclear references and some awkward links. For example, “the same language as in 2000” does not identify which category is meant, while “the largest share secured by the English” repeats the earlier misinterpretation rather than clearly connecting the data. The final sentence also repeats the reductions already mentioned. Use more precise category references and organise each year’s figures around the main changes, avoiding repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportions,” “representing,” “comprised,” and “reduced,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons you intend. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, as in “the information of British students,” “the second speaking language,” and “the largest share secured by.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “english,” “spanish,” “precious,” and “seperately.” These issues make the description less precise, particularly when category labels are already being confused. Build a reliable set of chart-reporting phrases, such as “accounted for,” “the proportion of students,” and “remained unchanged,” and check spelling and capitalisation of language names.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrastive overview and sentences beginning “In 2000” and “However.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but grammatical control is inconsistent. Examples include “students mostly speak,” where the past tense is needed, and “the Spanish stood at 20%,” where the sentence structure is incomplete or unnatural. In “the French and other language both comprised almost 15% separately,” agreement and number are problematic. Articles and sentence construction also need attention in phrases such as “the same language as in 2000.” Practise forming complete past-tense comparison sentences, and check subject–verb agreement, singular/plural forms, and punctuation when editing.

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