Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-23

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)

This chart illustrates five regional French languages and speaking habits of people whose parents talked to them in French laguage and those who continued this lagacy with their own children.

The first charts shows two catagories of people, adults who speak French habitually and those who speak it occasionally. Alsatian regional French language is spoken by 600 thousand parents regularly to their children, while above 200,000 adults speak this laguage sometimes with their offsprings. Occitan is used just above 600K, which is highest ratio of french regional laguage spoken regularly. It is also the highest ratio in occasionally speaking laguage crossing one million. Breton is used by just over 250,000 parents while 400,000 use it only when needed. Creole is used by 0.1 million people habitually and just above 0.1 million occasionally. Corsican has the lowest numerical value in both sections which is just under 100k and 100k respectively.

The second charts shows individuals who continued this lagacy and speak these languages with their own children. 400k used Alsatian while Occitan is only used by approximately 250,000 adults. Breton, Creole and Corisican remained below 100,000. Corsican remained the lowest spoken laguage in all sections of the charts

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the charts, identifying the languages and the two categories of speakers. However, the report lacks a clear overview or summary of the trends, which is a requirement for a Band 7 or higher. The data presentation is somewhat mechanical, listing figures without sufficient synthesis or comparison between the two charts. While the key information is present, the lack of a clear summary and the failure to fully integrate the data into a cohesive analytical report limits the score. To improve, ensure you include an introductory overview that highlights the most significant trends across both charts.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and occasionally repetitive. For example, the transition between the first and second charts is abrupt. While the logical progression is generally clear, the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'in contrast', 'furthermore', 'consequently') to connect ideas more fluidly. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall flow feels a bit disjointed due to the reliance on simple sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but there are several spelling errors, such as 'lagacy', 'catagories', 'laguage', and 'Corisican'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'habitually' and 'occasionally', the range is somewhat limited. To reach a higher band, you should focus on accuracy in spelling and attempt to use a more varied range of vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'predominant', 'marginal', or 'a significant decline'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'The first charts shows' (subject-verb agreement), 'above 200,000 adults speak this laguage sometimes' (awkward phrasing), and 'offsprings' (incorrect pluralization). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence variety is limited, which affects the overall sophistication of the writing. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensure that complex sentences are constructed accurately without errors that distract the reader.

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

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