Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-29

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 chart below illustrates the information of British students at one university in England who were able to speak other languages in addition to English, in 2000 and 2010. Shown in percentage.

Overall, considerable number of students speak Spanish, French and German which were common among students but no other language, another language or two other languages were mostly being spoke by students.

In 2000, Spanish was prominently spoken among students with 20%, relatively French with 15% was common too, German among students were less common with only 10%. In addition no other language with 30%, two other languages with 10% and another language with 15% were spoken by majority of the students.

In 2010, Spanish, French and German were less common compared to 2000, each language with only 10% were seen spoken by students. However, no other language increased significantly with 35%, another language 20% and two other languages 15% were ultimatetly common among students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two years and report most of the chart figures accurately, including Spanish at 20% in 2000 and 10% in 2010, and the rise in “No other language” from 30% to 35%. However, the overview is unclear: it groups language categories as “common” without clearly stating the main change, and the claim that Spanish, French and German were less common in 2010 overlooks that German stayed at 10%. The final sentence also calls the categories “common” without explaining their relative proportions. The response is 134 words, below the 150-word minimum, which limits how fully the key comparisons are developed. A clearer overview and more precise comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2000 and 2010. This makes the information easy to follow overall, and time markers such as “In 2000” and “In 2010” help organise the comparisons. However, the overview does not clearly establish the main trend, and some linking is mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “In addition” and “However.” The sentence beginning “In addition no other language…” also places several figures together without a clear relationship between them. Use more precise comparisons and connect related changes across the years, rather than listing categories year by year alone.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “common,” “compared to,” and “increased,” so the topic remains understandable. There is some attempt to vary expression, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing data. For example, “prominently spoken” is not a natural collocation, and “were ultimately common” does not clearly convey the figures. “Majority” is also unsuitable for categories representing 10–30% of students, since these are not most students. Spelling errors such as “ultimatetly” further reduce accuracy. Aim for precise reporting verbs and neutral terms such as “accounted for,” “rose,” “fell,” and “remained unchanged,” ensuring that the wording matches the proportions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the year-by-year paragraphs generally communicate the intended comparisons. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, with errors in agreement, sentence construction, and articles. For example, “considerable number of students speak” needs an article and a tense appropriate to the past data; “German among students were less common” has faulty agreement and structure; and “each language with only 10% were seen spoken” is not a complete, well-formed clause. The opening fragment, “Shown in percentage,” also lacks a main verb. Practise building complete sentences around a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and tense before adding extra clauses.

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