Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The pie charts below show responses by teachers of foreign languages in Britain to a survey concerning why their students are learning a foreign language. The first chart shows the main reason for learning a foreign language. The second chart shows how many teachers felt that there has been a recent change in the reason.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

% of teachers reporting the following as most common reason for learning:

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The first pie chart represents the percentage of different reasons why students are learning foreign languages. This report was presented by teachers.

It was reported that,the main reason to learn foreign languages is travelling, almost 33 percent. On the contrary, the smallest reason is, foreign partner which is only 3 percent.Some students also learn foreign languages due to business or to do work (26 percent). Others are interested to buy property in foreign counteries, its ratio is 19%.There are some other causes also. That are personal development and social contact its ratio is 7 percent.Some students learn foreign languages because of general interest(5 percent only).

The other chart depicts the recently increased ratio in different reasons.

The highest increased reason is buying property in foreign counteries.It is recently enhanced 34 percent.On the opposite, the travelling reason only increased to 3 percent. There is also obvious increase in business contacts and social contacts that is 19 % and 15 % respectively.There is minor enhancement in learning foreign languages due to personal development and social contact(4%,6%).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several key figures accurately: travel is the leading main reason at 33%, foreign partners the smallest at 3%, and buying property overseas the largest reported recent increase at 34%. However, the report only partly covers the second chart and lacks a clear overview comparing the charts. It does not mention the 15% who reported no change, and it mislabels the 6% for general interest as personal development while giving social contacts as 4%; the chart shows the reverse. The statement about an increase in “business contacts” also changes the category from business/work. To strengthen the response, summarise the main contrasts first, then report the remaining figures accurately and distinguish the reasons from changes in those reasons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: it discusses the first chart, then introduces the second with “The other chart depicts…”. This helps the reader follow the broad topic, and the figures are generally grouped by chart. However, the progression within each section is mostly a list, with limited comparison or synthesis. Linking phrases such as “On the contrary” and “On the opposite” are repeated and do not always express the relationship precisely; “by contrast” would suit comparisons better. The final sentence also repeats social contacts and makes the figures difficult to follow. Use a clear overview paragraph followed by one paragraph per chart, and connect figures through meaningful comparisons rather than a sequence of isolated statements.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the general subject, including “foreign languages,” “business,” “personal development,” and “general interest.” There are also attempts at more formal reporting language, such as “depicts” and “enhanced.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing survey data: “the smallest reason” is better expressed as the least commonly reported reason, and “increased ratio” does not clearly describe teachers’ responses. “Foreign counteries” is misspelled, while “business contacts” changes the chart’s business/work category. Repetition of “reason” and “increase” also limits flexibility. Aim for precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “was reported by,” and “the proportion indicating an increase.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with a few attempts to combine ideas, for example, “Some students also learn foreign languages due to business or to do work.” Errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. Examples include the punctuation and spacing in “It was reported that,the main reason,” the incomplete construction “There are some other causes also. That are…,” and the unclear final phrase “(4%,6%).” Articles and sentence structure also need attention in phrases such as “the main reason to learn foreign languages is travelling.” Practise forming complete sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement and punctuation, and use parallel structures when listing categories and percentages.

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