Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-09

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 bar graphs illustrate the number of French adults whose parents spoke a French regional language to them when they were children and the number of people who speak a French regional language to their own children.

Overall, the Alsatian and Occitan was the highest who spoke habitually to them in childhood, while the people who prefer to spoke occasionally was largest by Occitan. In contrast, Alsatian sharing largest proportion by the number of adults whose parents spoke speak a regional language to their own children, whereas the lowest proportion shared by Corsican.

To begin with, whose parents spoke a regional language to them in childhood. Alsatian and Occitan contributed to 600 thousand people spoke habitually. Half of that, the proportion of Breton at 300 thousand adults like to spoke habitually. Creole and Corsican was relatively similar at 100 and 90 thousand adults respectively. Turning to people who spoke occasionally was largest proportion by Occitan at nearly 1 thousand million adults. The proportion of Alsatian significantly decreased (at roughly 210 thousand)as compared to spoken habitually people. However, Breton, Creole and Corsican gradually increased by spoke occasionally at 400, 110 and 100 thousand respectively.

In addition, number of adults whose parents speak a regional language to their own children was highest by Alsatian at 400 thousand people, Occitan decreased to 250 thousand. Furthermore, Breton represented at around 100 thousand and slightly declined to 95 thousand by Creole. The 70 thousand adults speak Corsican language to their own children, which spoken the least amount of people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover both charts and provide an overview, identifying Occitan as the leading language for occasional childhood use and Alsatian as the most common language passed on to children. Several comparisons are relevant, including the relatively small figures for Creole and Corsican. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: habitual use of Occitan is about 620,000, slightly higher than Alsatian at 600,000, rather than equal; Alsatian occasional use is about 240,000, not 210,000; and the child-directed figures for Breton, Creole and Corsican are approximately 90,000, 80,000 and 60,000. The overview also says “highest” without clearly distinguishing the two childhood-use categories. More precise comparisons and a clearer summary of the main patterns would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable report structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs covering childhood use and language passed to children. Sequencing is generally logical, and transitions such as “To begin with,” “Turning to,” and “In addition” help signal shifts between chart features. However, some links are mechanical, and the opening of the first detail paragraph (“To begin with, whose parents spoke…”) is an incomplete sentence, interrupting the progression. References such as “that” in “Half of that” are not fully clear, while “the proportion” is repeated even though the figures describe numbers of adults. Group the comparisons more deliberately and use clear references to the relevant category or language.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “illustrate,” “habitually,” “occasionally,” “relatively similar,” and “decreased,” so the reader can identify the main subject and comparisons. There is also some attempt to vary expressions for quantities and trends. However, several word combinations are unnatural or imprecise, such as “Alsatian sharing largest proportion,” “largest proportion by Occitan,” and “gradually increased by spoke occasionally.” “One thousand million” is also an incorrect expression for the figure, which is approximately 1.065 million. Repeated use of “proportion” is unsuitable when reporting counts, and “prefer” suggests choice rather than reported language use. Use precise terms such as “number,” “figure,” “higher,” and “spoke occasionally” in natural combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in sentence structure and agreement are frequent enough to make some comparisons difficult to follow. For example, “the Alsatian and Occitan was the highest” has a subject–verb agreement problem and an unclear construction; “Half of that, the proportion of Breton at 300 thousand adults like to spoke habitually” is not a complete, well-formed sentence; and “which spoken the least amount of people” lacks an appropriate verb form. There are also problems with articles and verb patterns, as in “the number … was highest by Alsatian.” Practise complete comparison sentences, accurate past-tense forms, and agreement between subjects and verbs.

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