Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-28

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 given bar graph illustrates the population of French adults whose parents spoke a French regional language to them when they were children and then compares it to the number of those who speak a French regional language to their own children.

Overall, highest number of adults grew up talking Occitan language. Whereas maximum number of adults speak Alsatian to their own children.

It can be seen that there are nearly same number of adults whose parents habitually spoke to them in Alsatian and Occitan. Whereas maximum number of the parents that is nearly 1.4m occasionally spoke in Occitan. Compared to it Alsatian had a quarter speakers. Languages like Creole and Corsican had lowest number in both categories which is around 100,000. Breton lays in middle of this with 250 and 400 thousand speakers respectively.

The amount of adults speaking to their children in regional language decreased. There were maximum Alsatian speakers with 400 thousand parents and Corsican was least spoken language with less than 100 thousand speakers. Breton and Creole also fall under same category. Occitan however, had 250 thousand speakers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the task by comparing the data across the categories of regional languages spoken by parents and those passed on to children. An overview is attempted, noting that Occitan and Alsatian feature prominently. However, the response contains several inaccuracies and confusing data points when compared against the chart. For instance, the writer states that nearly 1.4m people occasionally spoke Occitan (the chart shows just over 1m), and that Breton lies in the middle with '250 and 400 thousand speakers respectively', whereas the chart figures for habitual and occasional speakers of Breton are 260 and 400 thousand. Furthermore, the final paragraph groups data confusingly without clearly structuring the second chart's figures. The response covers the main areas but lacks precise data handling.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, starting with an introduction followed by an overview and body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence grouping. Cohesive devices such as 'Whereas' and 'Compared to it' are used, but referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'Breton lays in middle of this' or 'Breton and Creole also fall under same category', which leaves the reader to guess the precise relational meaning. Paragraphing is present but internal cohesion remains mechanical and sometimes faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, incorporating basic terms related to data description such as 'illustrates', 'compares', and 'speakers'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'highest number of adults grew up talking Occitan language' (missing articles) and 'Alsatian had a quarter speakers' instead of 'a quarter of the speakers'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and repetitive structures constrain the range. Word choice errors do not entirely impede communication but restrict the score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent missing articles ('highest number of adults', 'least spoken language'), incorrect prepositions ('lays in middle of this'), and punctuation issues. Errors such as 'The amount of adults speaking' (should be 'The number of adults') occur alongside awkward phrasing like 'Compared to it Alsatian had a quarter speakers'. While some sentences are correct, errors are frequent enough to cause occasional difficulty for the reader and prevent the score from reaching Band 6.

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

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