Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-16

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the number of French adults whose parents spoke a French regional language to them when they were children and the number who speak a French regional language to their own children.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

Number of adults (in thousands) whose parents spoke a regional language to them in childhood

Student answer (Band 6.5)

The bar chats illustrate the number of French adults those parents spoke a French regional language to them they were children and the their ow child.

Overall, the data demonstrates a significant generational decline in the active usage and passing down of French regional languages. Occitan and Alsatian stood out as the most widely used dialects across both generations, while Creole and Corsican consistently experienced the lowest levels of engagement. Crucially, while Occitan was the dominant language heard by adults in their youth, Alsatian became the single most resilient language spoken to the newer generation.

During their upbringing, Occitan was by far the most widespread regional dialect experienced by French adults. It was spoken habitually to approximately 300,000 individuals and occasionally to over 1 million. Alsatian was the second most popular language, spoken habitually to 100,000 children and occasionally to an additional 75,000. Breton took a middle position, capturing 150,000 habitual and 200,000 occasional childhood listeners. In contrast, minor regional languages were much rarer; Creole recorded roughly 60,000 habitual and 65,000 occasional speakers, whereas Corsican bottomed out the dataset, with a meager 20,000 habitual and 75,000 occasional childhood interactions.

When tracking the languages passed down from these adults to their own offspring, a sharp downward contraction occurred in almost all categories. Despite its massive occasional footprint in the past, Occitan usage plummeted sharply to 450,000 total active adult speakers. Conversely, Alsatian showed remarkable retention, dropping slightly in overall reach but securing the top spot with 75,000 adults actively using it with their children

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The report covers the main features of the charts well, providing a clear overview and supporting details. You successfully identified the generational decline and highlighted the most significant languages, such as Occitan and Alsatian. However, the introduction contains significant grammatical errors that obscure the meaning of the task description. Furthermore, while you mention specific figures, the data presentation in the second paragraph is slightly confusing regarding the distinction between 'habitual' and 'occasional' speakers, and the final sentence is incomplete. To improve, ensure that all data points are clearly linked to the correct category and that your sentences are fully formed to avoid ambiguity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Crucially', 'In contrast', and 'Conversely' to guide the reader through the comparisons. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the two different timeframes/charts. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing in the opening sentence and the incomplete final sentence, which slightly affects the overall coherence. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but more precise referencing would help strengthen the links between the two sets of data.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'generational decline', 'resilient', 'plummeted', and 'downward contraction' effectively. This shows an ability to use less common lexical items with some awareness of style. There are, however, some minor inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'bottomed out the dataset' and 'massive occasional footprint', which are slightly unnatural in an academic context. Despite these minor issues, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning with precision for the most part, and the errors do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several grammatical errors, particularly in the introduction ('those parents spoke' instead of 'whose parents spoke') and the final sentence, which is missing a period and is grammatically incomplete. While you demonstrate control over complex structures, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. To reach a higher band, focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring that all sentences are complete and punctuated correctly.

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

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