Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-14

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 pie charts give information about answers by teachers of different languages in Britain to a survey focusing why their shcolars are learning a foreign language. The first chart provides the primary cause for learning a foreign language. The second chart illustrats how many teachers felt that there has been a recent change in the reason.

Overall, the largest reason why students learn a new language was because of business and work , while the smallest portion was seen in learners had a foreign partner . the proportion of teachers reporting recent change in the reason , the highest portion was to buy property overseas , However the lowest share was to travel.

The main reason that learnes studied a different language is for business and word which made up around 26% and it decresed to 19% in recent years . the travel reason was 33% and it declince by 30% . personal development compromised about 7% then it dropped to nearly 4%. However , there are some causes which increrased sush as buying property overseas that was 19% , and incerased to 34% ,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the charts’ general subject and provide an overview, correctly noting that business/work is the leading main reason and buying property overseas is the most frequently reported recent increase. You also accurately report several figures, including 26%, 19%, 33%, 7% and 34%. However, the report covers only a limited selection of the data, and some comparisons misinterpret what the second chart measures: for example, travel is shown as 3% of teachers reporting a recent increase, not a 30% decline, and the charts do not establish that the reasons themselves increased or decreased over time. The smallest main-reason category is correctly identified as having a foreign partner, but the overview could compare more key categories and clarify the charts’ different measures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and a paragraph with figures. This helps the reader identify the main purpose of each section. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph moves between categories without a clear grouping or consistent comparison, and it ends abruptly after the property figure. Linking words such as “Overall” and “However” are used, but some connections are unclear or mechanically applied; for instance, “However” does not clearly signal a contrast in the final sentence. Organise the details into a more systematic comparison of the main reasons and the reported recent changes, and use references that make clear which chart each percentage belongs to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing charts, including “primary cause,” “proportion,” “largest” and “smallest portion.” However, the range and control are limited, with repeated use of general terms such as “reason” and “portion,” and several inaccurate or misspelled expressions make the report less clear. Examples include “business and word” for “business and work,” “compromised” for “comprised,” and “declince” for “declined.” Some phrasing is also imprecise: “it decreased by 30%” does not accurately describe the 3% figure in the second chart. Build a more reliable set of chart-reporting collocations and check spelling and word choice carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “the largest reason why students learn a new language was because…” and a contrast introduced by “while.” However, grammatical errors are frequent, and some sentences are difficult to follow. For example, “the smallest portion was seen in learners had a foreign partner” lacks a grammatical connection between the clauses, while “The main reason that learnes studied…” has an unclear clause structure. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent, as shown by the lower-case “the” after a full stop and commas separated from the preceding word. Practise forming complete clauses, using consistent past or present tense, and punctuating each sentence clearly.

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