Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-19

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 bar diagrams provide information about the number of French adults whose parents spoke to them a French regional language in their childhood as well as the number of adults, who speak a French regional language to their own children now in thousands.

Overall, the number of people who speak a French regional language to their children has decreased substantially at present for all languages. In past, the number of parents spoken Alsatian habitually was greater than the parents spoken occasionally. However, this trend was opposite for the parents spoken Occitan and Breton.

There were about 600 thousand adults whose parents spoken in Alsatian and Occitan habitually, while the numbers are over 200 thousand and nearly 1.1 million respectively for the adults whose parents spoken in Alsatian and Occitan occasionally. The number of adults with habitually and occasionally spoken parents were above 250 thousand and 400 thousand respectively. The figures for Creole and Corsican speaking parents were close for both habitually and occasionally criteria.

At present, there are about 400 thousand parents, who speak Alsatian to their children, make it the highest spoken language. Occitan stands second with about 250 thousand parents and Creole and Corsican comes next as both have a speaker of below 100 thousand.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by describing both charts. You have identified the main trends and provided data to support your points. However, the report lacks a clear overview of the second chart (current usage) in the introduction or summary, and some data points are slightly confusing. For instance, the comparison of 'habitually' and 'occasionally' for Creole and Corsican is vague, as you mention they are 'close' without providing specific figures. To reach a higher band, ensure that all key features are clearly highlighted and that comparisons between the two charts are more explicit, rather than just listing figures.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized into paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on the two different timeframes. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'At present', which help the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'The number of adults with habitually and occasionally spoken parents were above 250 thousand and 400 thousand respectively', where it is not immediately clear which language is being referenced. Improving the flow between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'substantially', 'habitually', and 'occasionally'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'parents spoken Alsatian' instead of 'parents who spoke Alsatian' or 'parents who spoke to them a French regional language'. These errors occasionally impede the natural flow of the text. To improve, focus on correct verb-noun collocations and ensure that your phrasing is more precise when describing data trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms and relative clauses. For example, 'the number of parents spoken Alsatian habitually' should be 'the number of parents who spoke Alsatian habitually'. Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases, such as 'as both have a speaker of below 100 thousand'. These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points. Increasing the accuracy of your complex structures will help improve this score.

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

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