Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-21

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 graphs illustrate number of French adults whose parents spoke a French regional language to them in their childhood and the number who speak these languages to their own children.

Overall, parents from different regions spoke their regional language to their children and the index of the languages spoken occasionally is greater than languages spoken habitally. The parents today do not speak their language with their children as compared to their own parents.

Firstly, the number of adults whose parents spoke in Alsatian to them when they were children was 600,000 in those who spoke it habitually which is more than those who spoke occasionally. It is clearly shown that all other languages were more spoken occasionally than regularly.

Secondly, the index of number of adults who speak a regional language to their own children is low. Alsatian language got a significant drop to 400,000, whereas Breton, Creole and Corsican are under 100,000. Use of Occitan language as got a comparable drop.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers the main parts of the task by identifying key features from both charts, such as the overall decline across generations and the contrast between habitual and occasional use. However, some data points contain minor inaccuracies, such as stating that Alsatian was 600,000 for habitual speakers and claiming it was more than those who spoke it occasionally (whereas the chart shows 240,000 for occasional Alsatian, but Occitan had 1,065,000 occasional speakers). Furthermore, the overview lacks precision regarding the overall trends. Nonetheless, the core information is addressed, leading to a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged into a logical structure with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs covering specific details. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the text, such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', and 'Secondly'. However, paragraphing could be better balanced, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'Use of Occitan language as got a comparable drop'). Progression is evident, but the mechanical transitions place this firmly in Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'habitually', 'occasionally', 'index', and 'significant drop'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'index of the languages' and 'languages spoken habitally' (instead of habitually), alongside grammatical word form issues like 'Use of Occitan language as got'. These inaccuracies restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses ('whose parents spoke...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. Errors include missing articles ('illustrate number of French adults'), incorrect prepositions ('spoke in Alsatian'), and awkward verb phrases ('Use of Occitan language as got'). These errors occasionally cause minor confusion, aligning the grammar with a Band 5.5.

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

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