Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-08

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 chart compares the number of French adults whose parents conversed with them in a French regional language during their childhood. The following chart demonstrates the number of, now adults who speak the regional language to their children.

The first chart is bifurcated into habitual and occasional speakers, while the second chart demonstrates a general picture.

Alsatian and Occitan were among the highest number of regional languages spoken to children. Breton was recorded at below 400 thousand making them the mean. while Creole(100 thousand) and Corsican(below 100 thousand) were the two lowest habitually spoken languages.

Occitan was spoken occasionally to children, with number of speakers being over 1 millon, second came Alsatian at just above 200 thousand ocassional speakers, followed by Creote and Corsican respectively.

The chart showing number of adults who speak a regional language to their own children clearly shows Alsastian being the most conversed language, with 400 thousand parents conversing with their children in it. Following Alsatian, Occitan is the highest spoken language(250 thousand). Creole is the second to least spoken language(below 100 thousand, followed by Corsican which is spoken by fewer than 100 thousand people to their children in France.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The report identifies the two charts and includes several relevant comparisons, especially the high figure for occasional Occitan and the leading figure for Alsatian among adults speaking to their own children. However, the account is incomplete and some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. For example, it calls Breton “the mean,” although this is not a meaningful summary, and says Creole and Corsican are the lowest habitually spoken languages without clearly distinguishing their occasional figures. It also omits the important contrast between the two childhood-speaking categories and the much lower figures for passing languages on to children. Add a concise overview of the main patterns, then report accurate comparisons across both charts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, a brief description of the first chart, and a paragraph on speaking languages to children. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Following Alsatian” help signal comparisons. However, progression is uneven because the first chart’s figures are discussed in a confusing order, and the overview paragraph does not clearly summarise the main trends. Some links are also awkward or unclear, such as “making them the mean,” while the final paragraph repeats “spoken” and “conversing” without a clear comparison framework. Grouping the figures by chart and then by highest-to-lowest values, with a clear overview before details, would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “habitual,” “occasional,” “recorded,” and “respectively,” and the meaning is generally understandable. The writer also attempts more formal reporting language, for example “The chart compares” and “clearly shows.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “bifurcated” is unnecessarily technical for two data series, “the mean” does not describe Breton’s position, and “most conversed language” is an awkward collocation. Spelling slips such as “millon,” “ocassional,” “Creote,” and “Alsastian” also reduce accuracy. Prefer precise chart language such as “category,” “figure,” “most widely spoken,” and “approximately,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mixture of simple and more complex sentence forms, including relative clauses in “adults whose parents conversed with them” and a comparison structure beginning “Following Alsatian.” Most of the intended meaning can be understood, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. The opening has an awkward construction in “the number of, now adults,” and “Breton was recorded at below 400 thousand making them the mean” has unclear agreement and sentence boundaries. There are also missing spaces after commas and inconsistent punctuation around parenthetical figures. Use complete, clearly punctuated sentences, and check that pronouns agree with their referents. More controlled complex sentences would improve accuracy without making the report harder to read.

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

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