Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-26

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 two bar charts illustrates the French speaking adults who speak regional French taught by parents and the regional French language they speak to their children.

Overall, It is clear from bars that Occitan is the widely occasionally speaking language, while Corsican is the least speaking language for the adults learn from their parents. Alsatian is most speaking language by adults teaching to their children, while Corsican is the least speaking French by adults to their children.

The Occitan French is the leading language learn from parents by French individual as occasionally speaking language. It is used by 1.1 million people, while 600,000 speaks it habitually. Alsatian is another regional language learn by 600,000 thousand people in their childhood, but it is speaking occasionally by 250,000 people only. The Breton has been used occasionally by 400,000 people but few speaks it. The Creole and Corsican languages speaks habitually by few individuals as compared to Alsatian and Occitan.

In comparison with the adults speaking regional French with their children, Alsatian stands out as the top speaking French with 400,000 speak with their children. In contrast, Occitan is the second most speaking French with around 230,000 French speaks this with their children. Breton, Creole speaks by around 90,000 and 80,000 people, respectively. Corsican is the least speaking language with around 60,000 speakers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to describe both charts, covering the main trends and making some comparisons between the data sets. However, there are significant inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the text states that Occitan is used by '1.1 million people' for the occasional category, whereas the chart shows approximately 1,065 thousand (or over 1 million, but the wording is slightly imprecise), and later states Occitan is the second most spoken with 'around 230,000' when the chart shows 250,000. Additionally, the overview attempts to capture the main trends, but the expression of ideas is somewhat disjointed and repetitive. The response addresses the prompt overall, but the data handling and extension of ideas are restricted by inaccuracies and limited development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The report is divided into four paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to the charts. However, progression within paragraphs is frequently disrupted by awkward referencing and repetitive phrasing. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or are missing entirely, leading to choppy sentences. For example, transition phrases like 'In comparison with...' are used, but sentences within the body paragraphs lack smooth connections. Paragraphing is present, but internal logical flow requires improvement to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, heavily relying on words like 'speaking', 'language', and 'adults'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'widely occasionally speaking language' instead of 'most frequently spoken occasionally', and 'adults learn from their parents' instead of 'learned'. Less common lexical items are attempted ('habitually', 'respectively'), but inaccuracies in form and collocation are frequent. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general topic, it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense, and subject-verb agreement. Examples include 'The two bar charts illustrates' (agreement error), 'adults learn from their parents' (tense/voice issue), and 'Breton, Creole speaks by around 90,000' (passive voice error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of grammatical mistakes causes occasional strain for the reader, placing the response firmly in the Band 5 category.

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

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