Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-20
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)
It is obvious from the charts that the number of adults who speak a French regional language to their own children has decreased drastically when contrasted with the number of adults whose parents spoke a regional French language with them. For instance, 600 thousands of adults were exposed habitually to Occitan regional language while only around 250 thousands of their children who listen to this language. On the other hand, the number of adults who has learned Creole and Corsican during their childhood and those who speak these specific local languages stay the same which explains the stability and endurance of this French culture. Overall, the practice of French language is decreasing historically with some rare exception. It is also worth noting that in the past parents used to speak some local languages extensively especially Occitan. However, this seems to have no effect on future generation in preserving the language of their predecessors.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main trends, but the analysis is somewhat superficial. You identified the decrease in Occitan and the stability in Creole and Corsican, which is good. However, the report lacks a clear overview of the data as a whole, and the comparison between the two charts is not fully developed. The data points provided, such as '600 thousands', are slightly inaccurate in their presentation (it should be '600,000' or '600 thousand'). To reach a higher band, ensure you provide a more comprehensive summary of the key features and use the data more precisely to support your observations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized, moving from a general comparison to specific examples and then to a concluding observation. You use cohesive devices like 'For instance', 'On the other hand', and 'Overall' to guide the reader. However, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire response is presented as a single block of text. A report of this nature should ideally be divided into an introduction, a body paragraph for the main trends, and a concluding overview. Improving the paragraph structure would significantly enhance the flow and readability of your report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your meaning, using terms like 'drastically', 'habitually', 'endurance', and 'predecessors'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, '600 thousands of adults' is grammatically awkward; it should be '600,000 adults' or '600 thousand adults'. Additionally, 'practice of French language is decreasing' is slightly imprecise, as the charts refer to specific regional languages rather than French itself. Expanding your range of academic collocations would help you achieve a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors. For instance, 'only around 250 thousands of their children who listen to this language' is a sentence fragment. You also have subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'the number of adults who has learned' (should be 'have learned') and 'these specific local languages stay the same' (should be 'stays the same'). Focusing on subject-verb agreement and ensuring all sentences have a main verb will improve your accuracy significantly.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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