Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-26

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 gives information about the percentage of students from Britain being able to communicate in languages besides english at an university in England in the years 2000 and 2010.

In the year 2000, 70% students could speak languages other than their mother tongue including French,German and Spanish. Out of the three,Spanish was the most common second language spoken by students with 20%. There were languages, other than French, German and Spanish spoken as well by the students which constituted 15%. Students who were trilingual consisted of about 10% A big propotionate of 30% didnt speak languages other than english.

In 2010,however, the percentage of students speaking a second or even third language merely declined.

Overall, the charts show the proprotionate of students being multilingual and how has it decreased

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two years and report several relevant 2000 figures, including Spanish at 20%, other languages at 15%, and no other language at 30%. However, the response addresses the task only partially: it gives almost no accurate detail about 2010, and the claim that multilingualism “merely declined” is too broad. In fact, the no-other-language group rose from 30% to 35%, while “another language” and “two other languages” increased; Spanish and French fell, and German stayed the same. The overview also says multilingualism decreased, which overlooks these mixed changes. The response is 131 words, below the required 150. To improve, include a clear overview and compare the main categories across both years with accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic chronological structure: it describes 2000 first, then turns to 2010, and ends with an overall statement. This gives the reader some sense of organisation, and “In 2010, however” signals a transition. However, the progression is limited because the 2010 paragraph contains only a general claim and does not develop comparisons. The overview comes at the end and repeats the idea of decline rather than summarising the main pattern. Some links between ideas are also awkward, such as “Out of the three” followed by a separate statement about other languages. Use a clearer overview near the beginning, then group comparable categories and connect them with precise contrasts such as “whereas” and “by comparison.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “constituted,” “second language,” and “trilingual,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural. “A big propotionate” does not express the intended idea, while “the percentage … merely declined” is too vague for the mixed changes shown. “Being able to communicate in languages besides English” is understandable but less concise than “speaking languages other than English.” There are also spelling errors in “proprotionate” and “propotionate,” and inconsistent capitalisation of “English.” Aim for precise chart language, such as “accounted for,” “rose to,” and “remained unchanged,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates its basic meaning, but grammatical control is inconsistent and the sentence patterns are limited, which makes some relationships unclear. For example, “The pie charts gives” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “70% students” is missing an article or quantifier. The phrase “how has it decreased” uses an unsuitable question word order in a statement; write “how it changed” instead. Punctuation is also unreliable, with missing spaces after commas in “French,German” and “three,Spanish.” There is an attempt at a longer sentence beginning “There were languages…,” but its structure is awkward. Practise accurate agreement, articles, and statement word order, while using a mix of simple and carefully controlled complex sentences.

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