Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-27

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 percentage of British students at one university in England who were able to speak languages other than English in 2000 and 2010.

Overall, it can observed that no other language accounted the largest porportion in both years and the lowest with two other languages while, German language remains same in both years.

As is illustrated from the charts in 2000 students are more interested in other languages almost a third. German and two other languages share 10%. Spanish reported the second place with a fifth students are speaking languages other than English. French and Another language made up 15%.

However, after 10 decades no other language and another language had increased with 5% when it is compared to 2000. Two other languages constituted with 15%. Spanish had a slight fall with 10% and French with 5%. Subsequently the German language reported same in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the charts and give a relevant overview, noting that “no other language” was the largest category in both years and that German stayed unchanged. Several figures are reported accurately, including Spanish at 20% in 2000 and 10% in 2010, and the increases in “another language” and “two other languages.” However, the overview is incomplete: “the lowest with two other languages” is not true in 2010, when German was lowest at 10%, tied with French and Spanish. The statement that French fell “with 5%” is also inaccurate; it fell from 15% to 10%, a decrease of five percentage points. The response is 137 words, below the 150-word minimum, and some comparisons are underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the two years and their changes. The final paragraph also uses “However” to signal a comparison with 2000. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is sometimes unclear because several figures are listed without a consistent comparison pattern, and “As is illustrated from the charts” does not connect smoothly to the preceding overview. The phrase “after 10 decades” is confusing and disrupts the time sequence. Grouping the categories into increases, decreases and unchanged figures, with clear links between each comparison, would make the organisation more coherent and less list-like.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “accounted,” “constituted,” “slight fall” and “share,” and the reader can generally understand the categories being compared. There is some variation beyond basic words such as “show.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “students are more interested” describes preference rather than the chart’s reported ability, while “reported the second place” and “constituted with 15%” are not natural ways to describe proportions. “Porportion” is also misspelled, and “10 decades” does not express the intended time interval. Use precise chart language consistently, such as “accounted for,” “stood at,” and “increased by five percentage points.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of sentence forms, including an overview with a contrast and sentences comparing changes across the two years. The main information is usually understandable, but errors are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. For example, “it can observed” is missing “be,” and “no other language accounted the largest porportion” lacks the required preposition after “accounted.” The overview also has an incomplete construction in “and the lowest with two other languages,” while “German language remains same” needs an article and a more accurate tense. In “French with 5%,” the sentence structure is incomplete. Check verb forms, articles, prepositions and complete sentence construction when revising.

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