Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-15

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 4.0)

The bar graph shows the number of children who spoke French from childhood from their parents, while some parents spoke occasionally.

Overall, a university lecturer shows information about

languages spoken in different areas of France. A large number of children spoke well occasionally as compared to habitually.

First of all, Alsatian languages spoke better habitually than occasionally, on the other hand, all four languages spoken occasionally are better.

The children learned them more from institutes, offices and seminars than from home.

In conclusion, the report about learning languages at home is less effective than occasionally.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5

The response makes a limited attempt to describe the charts, but much of its content is inaccurate or unsupported. It identifies Alsatian as having more habitual than occasional use, which matches the data, but the claim that “all four languages spoken occasionally are better” is unclear and does not accurately describe the comparisons: occasional figures are higher for Occitan, Breton, Creole and Corsican, while Alsatian is the exception. The charts compare adults’ childhood exposure with adults speaking languages to their own children; claims about children learning in “institutes, offices and seminars” are invented. There is no useful overview of the main patterns or adequate selection of figures. The response is also 55 words below the required minimum. Describe both charts accurately, give a clear overview, and support it with key comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, using “Overall,” “First of all,” and “In conclusion,” and the ideas are presented in separate short units. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the opening misstates what the charts show, and the overview and conclusion repeat vague claims rather than developing a clear comparison. The sentence “Overall, a university lecturer shows information about languages spoken in different areas of France” does not connect logically to the data, while “all four languages spoken occasionally are better” has no clear referent for “better.” Use a simple structure: introduce the charts, summarise the main trends, then compare the language figures in grouped detail. Link each sentence to a specific chart feature.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant topic vocabulary, including “habitually,” “occasionally,” “languages,” and “parents,” so the reader can recognise the general subject. However, word choice and collocation are often imprecise, making key comparisons unclear. For example, “spoke better habitually” and “are better” do not express that the figures are higher, and “from institutes, offices and seminars” introduces unsuitable terms not supported by the charts. “The report about learning languages at home is less effective” also describes effectiveness rather than the number of speakers. Build a small, accurate range of chart language, such as “the figure for,” “was higher than,” “approximately,” and “spoke the language to their children,” and use it consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes several simple sentence forms and attempts a more complex contrast with “while” and “on the other hand.” Some basic sentence meanings remain understandable, but grammatical control is uneven. In “The bar graph shows the number of children who spoke French from childhood from their parents,” the relative clause and repeated “from” make the relationship between parents and children unclear. “Alsatian languages spoke better habitually” also has an incorrect subject–verb relationship, and the sentence beginning “Overall” is incomplete or awkwardly constructed. Practise forming clear subject–verb sentences to describe figures, for example, “More adults spoke Occitan occasionally than habitually.” Then add controlled comparisons using “whereas” or “while,” checking clause structure and punctuation.

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