Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-31

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 chart compares the propotions of British student at one university in England who were able to speak other language as well as english in between 2000 and 2010 .

overall the highest number of British student who were able to speak no other language in between 2002 and 2010. Followed by spanish language ,French came third while the lowest number of people speak german only .

No other language was By far the highest 30% of British students spoke it in 2000, Followed by spanish language at 20% in contrast french and another language shared the same number 15%, As well as two other language and german only also were on 10 %.

In 2010 No other language slightly increased and reached at 35% whereas spanish and french declined and respectively stood at 10% however two othe language marginally increased at 15% and german only remain stable at 10% .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that “No other language” was the largest category in both years, and you report several relevant figures accurately, including 30% rising to 35%, Spanish falling from 20% to 10%, and German remaining at 10%. However, the overview says the figures cover “2002 and 2010,” which misstates the first year, and the ranking of Spanish and French is not consistent across the period. You also omit the increase in “Another language” from 15% to 20%. The response is 140 words, so it does not meet the 150-word minimum; this limits how fully the key comparisons are reported. Add the missing trend and make the overview precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable progression: an introduction, an overview, then details for 2000 and 2010. This helps the reader follow the comparison, and linking expressions such as “whereas,” “in contrast,” and “respectively” show an effort to connect information. However, the overview and detail paragraphs are not clearly separated, and the long sentence beginning “No other language was By far…” contains several figures joined together, making the relationships harder to follow. The final paragraph also leaves out the rise in “Another language,” so the comparison feels incomplete. Use distinct paragraphs for the overview and data, and organise each year’s figures in shorter, clearly linked sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportions,” “declined,” “increased,” “reached,” and “remained stable,” which allows you to describe changes rather than merely list figures. However, the range is limited and some word choices or forms are inaccurate: “the highest number … spoke it” is unsuitable for a percentage category, and “other language” and “two other language” need more accurate phrasing. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “propotions” and “othe,” and inconsistent capitalisation. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the main comparisons, but they reduce precision. Prefer terms such as “proportion” or “share” and use the chart’s category labels consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect comparisons in longer sentences, for example with “whereas” and “however,” but control of sentence structure is uneven. The opening sentence lacks a clear grammatical construction after “compares,” while “overall the highest number … in between 2002 and 2010” is an incomplete and confusing sentence. Agreement and verb forms also need attention: “British student … who were” and “german only remain stable” do not agree correctly. Several clauses are joined with commas, creating run-on sentences, and punctuation is inconsistent. These errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to interpret. Practise writing complete subject–verb sentences, checking singular and plural forms, and separating long comparisons with full stops.

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