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 pie charts present the proportion of British students from England studying at one college were able to speak different languages in addition to English, in 2000 and 2010.

Overall, earlier mosty students were able not able to speak any of language from the list except Spanish and French had highest proportions. The people who cannot speak any of languages were increased and the people who knew about any other language also showed incline, and Spanish and French usage reduced by the students. Rest of the languages had notable speakers.

In 2000, around 30% of the students did not speak any other language, followed by nearly 20% of students who can speak Spanish at that time. Scholars who knew about French and another language had same amount of people, it was approximately 15%. However, only 10% of the people were able to speak two other languages and German.

In 2010, there was a increase in the percentage of the students who cannot speak other language, at 35%. Also, students who knew about another language had an increase around 20%. However, Spanish and French both had considerable decrease of 10% respectively. German language remained with same number of people, and slight increase of 15% who were speaking two languages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main overall changes and report most figures accurately: the share with no other language rises from 30% to 35%, “another language” increases from 15% to 20%, and Spanish and French each fall by five percentage points. The overview also notes that German is unchanged and that speaking two other languages becomes more common. This gives the response a clear, relevant account of the charts. However, the overview is unclear in places, especially “earlier mosty students were able not able,” and the claim that Spanish and French had the highest proportions is not accurate for 2010, when no other language is the largest category. To strengthen the response, make the overview precise and compare the main categories consistently across both years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2000 and 2010. This makes the information generally easy to follow, and transitions such as “However” and “In 2010” help signal comparisons. Some links are mechanical or unclear, though. For example, “Rest of the languages had notable speakers” does not clearly connect to the preceding overview, while “German language remained with same number of people” could be linked more directly to the 2000 figure. The overview also combines several trends in a long sentence, making the relationships harder to follow. Use clearer topic sentences and refer consistently to categories and percentages so that comparisons progress smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “increase,” “decrease,” and “remained,” and the reader can usually understand the intended comparisons. However, several word choices and collocations are unnatural or imprecise, such as “studying at one college were able,” “knew about another language,” and “showed incline.” “Usage reduced by the students” also does not express the change in the share of students clearly. These noticeable issues limit precision and sometimes make the meaning less fluent. Aim for standard reporting phrases such as “students who could speak,” “the proportion rose,” and “the figure for Spanish fell.” Check spelling as well: “mosty” should be “mostly,” although “mostly” is not the right word for the intended point.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons introduced by “However” and clauses beginning “who.” The main information is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “students from England studying at one college were able” lacks a clear grammatical connection, and “the people who cannot speak any of languages were increased” has problems with tense, article use, and sentence construction. In “there was a increase,” the article is incorrect, while “Spanish and French both had considerable decrease of 10% respectively” has faulty article and number patterns. Use past-tense forms consistently for the chart years and practise accurate structures such as “the proportion of students who could speak Spanish fell to 10%.”

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