Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-05

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 chat illustrates the number of adults (in thousands) whose parents spoke a French Regional language to them when they were children and the number of adults who spoke a French regional language to their own children.

Overall, it is evident that the adults whose parents spoke French regional language with them were the highest in Occitan, followed by Alsatian. This number was reversed in the adults who spoke French with their own children. Prominentally, Corsican have the lowest number in both cases.

The adults whose parents spoke French stands at the highest position in Occitan, both habitually and occassionally, with the number of slightly above 600k and nearly 1.1 million thousands resepctievly. These numbers dropped slightly by 600k Alsatian adults who spoke French habitually, but just around 150k spoke it occassionally. Around 150k Breton adults spoke habitually, but 400k spoke occassionally, outpassiing the Alsatians. Creole and Corsican maintained the lowest numbers with speaking 200k and around 90k habitually, respectively and around 100k occassionally.

Those adults who spoke regional language with their own children were comparatively less. Alsatian took the first place by 400 people. This followed by 250k people in Occitan, around 99k in Breton. Creole and Cosican again stayed at the lowest by around 99k and 80k, respectievly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by describing both charts. You successfully identify key features, such as the dominance of Occitan in the first chart and the shift in the second. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, you state '1.1 million thousands', which is mathematically incorrect and confusing. Additionally, the comparison between the two charts is somewhat disjointed. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are transcribed accurately and that comparisons are made more precisely, rather than just listing figures. The overview is present but could be more analytical regarding the overall trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'followed by', and 'in both cases', which help the flow of information. However, some transitions are mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when jumping between categories like 'habitually' and 'occasionally'. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the internal structure of the third paragraph is slightly cluttered, making it harder for the reader to follow the comparison between the different languages.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'habitually', 'occasionally', and 'maintained'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'outpassiing' (outpacing) and 'Prominentally' (Prominently). Furthermore, the repetition of 'number' and 'spoke' limits the sophistication of the response. Spelling errors like 'resepctievly' and 'occassionally' occur frequently. To improve, focus on using more precise synonyms and ensuring correct spelling of common academic terms.

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, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Corsican have', 'parents spoke French stands') and incorrect use of units ('1.1 million thousands'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure in the third paragraph is repetitive. To achieve a higher band, you need to increase the frequency of error-free sentences and pay closer attention to basic grammatical rules like pluralisation and verb tense consistency.

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

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