Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-05

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 illustrates the percentage of british students at the university of England ,who speaks other languages in addition to English, in 2000 and 2010.

Overall, students cannot speak other language are dominant in both years 2000 and 2010 . whereas, students that use to speak two other languages have lowest in percentage in 2000 but it increase slightly in 2010 and the another languages are also increase slightly in 2010.

Firstly , students which speak no other language are dominant in ratio of this pie chart in the year 2000 but it increase marginally 5% in 2010 . But the german only and two other languages are same in percentage which are both 10%. But the two other languages increase dramatically and becomes 15 but the german remains same in 2010 .

On the other hand , in 2000, 20% students speak spanish but it decrease almost 10% in 2010.And the french language also decrease slightly and becomes 10% in 2010 .

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall pattern: the share speaking no other language was largest in both years, while Spanish declined and the “another language” and “two other languages” categories rose. Several figures are also reported accurately, including Spanish at 20% then 10%, German at 10% in both years, and no other language rising to 35%. However, the overview is not fully precise: two other languages was not the lowest category in 2000, since German was also 10%, and the claim that it “increase dramatically” overstates a five-point rise. The French change is described as slight, though it falls from 15% to 10%. Include the remaining category figures and make comparisons more exact to develop the report more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The contrastive phrase “On the other hand” also signals a shift to the declining language categories. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first paragraph moves from no other language to German and then back to two other languages, repeating information already mentioned in the overview. Linking words such as “But” and “whereas” are used mechanically or with unclear relationships, and the overview’s “whereas” creates an awkward sentence break. Group the increases together and the decreases together, and use clear references such as “this proportion” to make connections between figures easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “dominant,” “decrease,” and “remains same,” so the reader can generally understand the comparisons. There are also attempts to vary wording, such as “speak,” “use to speak,” and “students that use to speak,” but these are not consistently natural or precise. Phrases such as “dominant in ratio of this pie chart” and “increase dramatically” are awkward or overstate the data, while “another languages” has an inaccurate form. Capitalisation and spelling also need attention in “british,” “spanish,” and “german.” Aim for standard chart collocations and precise verbs, for example “accounted for,” “rose,” and “fell,” rather than repeating or stretching general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “whereas” and clauses beginning “which,” but control is uneven. Some errors are visible in subject–verb agreement and verb forms: “students … who speaks” should be “students … who speak,” and “it increase” should be “it increased.” The sentence beginning “Overall” joins contrasting ideas with a full stop before lowercase “whereas,” and several commas are separated from the preceding word or placed inconsistently. Articles and plural forms also need more reliable control, as in “the another languages.” Use shorter, complete sentences when reporting each comparison, then check agreement, tense and punctuation; this would make the range you attempt clearer and more accurate.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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