Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-02

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 first two bar graphs illustrate the strength of adults living in France, whose parents spoke five different types of French regional languages to them in their childhood whereas the third graph shows the number of same adults who speak same languages to their own children.

Overall, most of the parents of the adults were speaking Occitan to them while Alsatian was the popular among those individuals whose parents were speaking to them the same language when they were young.

To begin with, adults were categorized into two different types; one type of parent were speaking habitually and other were having a conversation in their native language every now and then. Occitan and Alsatian were registered as the frequently spoken language that is around 600 thousands. However, in [redacted phone] people were sometimes using the words of Occitan in their conversations. All in all, corsican was the least spoken language by the parents.

Further analyzing the data, the same children when they became parents, speaking same regional language to their own children. The most popular language among these adults was Alsatian i.e 400,000 individuals. By contrast, corsican was similarly least spoken language by the parents.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the task only partially. While the student attempts to describe the charts comparing adults whose parents spoke a regional language in childhood to those who speak to their own children, the content lacks clarity and contains significant inaccuracies in reading the data. For instance, the statement 'in 108000 people were sometimes using the words of Occitan' misinterprets the graph values, and key details are missed or confused. Furthermore, the overview is weak, failing to capture the main trends effectively across all three categories. To improve, the writer needs to select the most salient features accurately and present a clearer, more precise summary of the data provided without misrepresenting the figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the report into paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Information is generally organized logically, moving from parents' languages to the next generation. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, such as the abrupt transition in 'To begin with' and the repetitive use of connective phrasing. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as 'the same children when they became parents'. Paragraphing is used, but transitions between ideas within and between paragraphs could be managed more smoothly to establish a clearer logical progression throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing that occasionally cause confusion for the reader. Expressions like 'strength of adults' instead of 'number of adults' and 'popular among those individuals' demonstrate restricted control over collocation and precise lexical items. There are also awkward phrasings such as 'every now and then' in an academic context. While the student attempts less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in word choice prevent the response from achieving a higher band. To improve, the writer should focus on precise data-reporting vocabulary and natural collocations suitable for academic writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on basic forms while attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, prepositions, articles, and clause structures, such as 'Occitan and Alsatian were registered as the frequently spoken language that is around 600 thousands' and 'speaking same regional language to their own children', which lacks a main verb and auxiliary support. Punctuation and agreement errors also persist throughout the text. While these errors do not completely obscure the overall meaning, their frequency causes difficulty for the reader and indicates a need for stronger control over basic and complex grammatical patterns.

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