Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-17
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 5.5)
The former table illustrates the number of adults whose parents spoke a regional language to them in childhood, while the later one depicts the number of adults who speak a regional language to their own child.
Overall, a highest proportion of parents spoke in Occitan with their children occasionally, meanwhile habitually they generally spoke in Alsatian and Occitan during their childhood. Also, most number of adults preferred to talk in Alsatian language with their children. Creole and Corsican were among least spoken languages.
To begin with, 6,00,000 parents habitually had conversation with children in Alsatian and Occitan and less than 4,00,000 parents spoke in Breton, Creole, and Corsican. Occasionally, more than 1 million parents chose to had a word in Occitan. However, number fell to 4 lacs, 2.5 lacs and 1.2 lacs and 1 lacs for Alsatian, Occitan, Breton, Creole, Corsican respectively.
Additionally, Alsatian was highly spoke by adults to their children followed by Occitan. Breton, Creole, and Corsican were used by less than 1 lac parents.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the charts, but the data presentation is inconsistent and confusing. You use non-standard units like 'lacs' (which is not standard English) and fail to clearly distinguish between the two charts in your analysis. While you identify key trends, the lack of precision in reporting the figures—such as the vague 'most number of adults'—hinders the clarity of the report. To improve, ensure you use consistent units (thousands as provided in the prompt) and structure your comparisons more logically to highlight the differences between the two sets of data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the logical progression is weak. The transition between the two charts is abrupt, and the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or misused, such as 'meanwhile habitually they generally spoke'. The referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow which data point belongs to which category. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would significantly enhance the flow of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing and some non-standard terminology, such as 'lacs' and 'had a word in'. There are also errors in word choice, such as 'highly spoke' instead of 'widely spoken'. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'predominantly', 'fluctuated', or 'a significant minority', and avoid informal or non-standard numerical units.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'most number of adults preferred', 'chose to had a word', and '1 lacs'. Subject-verb agreement and verb tense consistency are areas that need attention. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb forms will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.