Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-07

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

Number of adults (in thousands) whose parents spoke a regional language to them in childhood

Student answer (Band 4.5)

This bar charts compares 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.In both graphs the Y-axis shows the languages and X-axis shows the people in thousands.

The first graph compares how many people spek the language occasionally and habitually.

The second graph illustrates the people speaki regional language. if we see the first bar there are 400 thousand people who speak the alsatian language. as we come near to the X axis the value drops. eg., occitan is spoken by around 250 thousand people. If we talk about Breton only 90 thousand people speak this language. Creole is spoken by 80 thousand people and same as corsican is spoken by 60 thousand people. these are all the adults who speak the regional language to their children. This graph shows that the mostly people speak Alsatian and very few speak Corsican.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response3.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the two charts and correctly report several figures for adults speaking a language to their own children, including Alsatian at 400, Occitan at about 250, Breton at 90, Creole at 80 and Corsican at 60 thousand. However, the first chart—the largest part of the comparison—is barely described: you mention its habitual and occasional categories but give no figures or comparisons for them. The overview is also limited to saying Alsatian is most common and Corsican least common in the second chart, without summarising the main contrast between the charts. The response is 133 words, below the required 150, and this limits the detail provided. To improve, include a concise overview and compare the key patterns across both charts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response has a basic sequence: it introduces the charts, refers to the first one, and then describes the figures for adults speaking to their children. Phrases such as “The second graph” and “If we talk about Breton” help signal the topic. However, the first chart is not developed, so the report does not progress through both sets of information in a balanced way. The paragraphing is also absent, and some transitions are unclear: “as we come near to the X axis” does not clearly explain the order or comparison being made. Group the information into an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph for each chart, using direct comparisons and clear linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “compares,” “illustrates,” “spoken,” and “thousand,” and the language names make the reported data understandable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or repetitive, including “people speak the language” and “the people speaking regional language.” Some choices make the meaning less clear, particularly “as we come near to the X axis,” which does not naturally describe a change in bar values. There are also spelling errors such as “spek” and “speaki,” and language names should be capitalised consistently. Use precise reporting verbs and comparison terms, for example “stood at,” “was considerably higher than,” and “the figure declined to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You communicate the main figures using mostly simple sentence patterns, and several clauses are understandable, such as “Creole is spoken by 80 thousand people.” However, grammatical control is inconsistent. The opening has a missing space after the full stop, and “This bar charts compares” has a subject–verb and number mismatch. Other examples include “the X-axis shows the people” and “the mostly people speak,” where sentence structure and article or word placement are faulty. The response relies heavily on short, repetitive statements, with little accurate use of more varied structures. Practise forming accurate comparisons and complex sentences, such as “Although Alsatian leads in the second chart, Occitan has the highest occasional-speaking figure in the first.”

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

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