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 chart illustrates the number of French adults whose parents spoke French regional language to them when they were children. In the same chart is also presented the number of French adults who speak a French regional language to their own children.

Overall, occitan was the language that was spoken the most occasioanly and habitually. Aisatian stood next to occitan as the language spoken the most habitually. Whereas, corsican was the least spoken language both habitually and occasionally. As for adults who speak a regional language to their own children, it is alsatian which is spoken the most among them. On the other hand, corsican was the least spoken language.

In detail, For the number of adults whose parents spoke a regional language to them in childhood habitually, occitan was the most spoken language standing at 610,000. Alsatian came at second with 600,00 adults speaking the language. Breton was next reaching 250,000. In the end creole and corsican being the least spoken languages both accounting to 100,000 and 50,000 adults respectively. In terms of language spoken occasionally, occitan was the clear answer for the language spoken the most at 1.5 million. Below it was breton at 400,000. Alsatian stood at 250,000. With again creole and corsican being the languages spoken the least at 110,000 and 100,000 respectively.

For the adults who speak a regional language to their own children, Alsatian was the clear favourite with 400,000 adults speaking the language. Occitan came at second reaching 250,000. As for creole, the number of adults was 180,000. In the end, it was corsican that was the least used language stood at 150,000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify both comparisons and provide an overview, noting that Occitan leads in childhood use and that Corsican is generally among the least used. However, several figures are substantially inaccurate, which weakens the report’s coverage of the data. For occasional use, Occitan is about 1.065 million, not 1.5 million; for speaking to children, Creole is about 80,000, not 180,000, and Corsican is about 60,000, not 150,000. You also omit the 90,000 figure for Breton in the final chart. The overview’s claim that Alsatian is the most spoken to children is accurate, but the report needs more reliable comparisons and a clearer account of the final chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate detail sections for childhood use and language spoken to children. This helps the reader identify the main stages of the comparison. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes list-like, and linking is repetitive: phrases such as “In the end,” “As for,” and “Below it” recur without always clarifying the relationship between figures. The final paragraph also leaves out Breton, interrupting the comparison across all five languages. Improve cohesion by grouping the figures consistently—for example, highest to lowest—and using concise comparisons rather than a sequence of isolated statements. Avoid sentence fragments such as “With again creole and corsican…”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing charts, including “accounting to,” “reaching,” “stood at,” and “the least spoken,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is limited and some expressions are repetitive or imprecise. “The clear answer” is not a natural way to identify the leading language, while “the clear favourite” suggests preference rather than frequency. There are also spelling errors in language names, including “occasioanly” and “Aisatian,” and inconsistent capitalisation of names such as Occitan and Corsican. Use precise reporting language such as “recorded,” “ranked second,” and “the highest figure,” and check spelling and capitalisation carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You communicate the main comparisons using both simple sentences and some longer structures, including “As for adults who speak a regional language to their own children…”. However, control is uneven, and several sentence patterns are incomplete or awkward. “Whereas, corsican was the least spoken…” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence, and “With again creole and corsican being…” is also a fragment. In “corsican that was the least used language stood at 150,000,” the clause structure is faulty. There are also punctuation and capitalisation problems, such as the comma after “In detail” and the lower-case start of language names. Practise complete sentence structures and check that each sentence has a clear subject and finite verb.

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