Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-04

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 5.0)

The above pie chart illustrates, the 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 reason.

Overall, the most common reason for learning was to travel abroad and the lowest reason was foreign partner. The next chart shows recent increase which include highest for buying property abroad and lowest was travel.

The first chart shows most common reason for learning was travel as highest which was 33% next was for business/work was 26% then was for buying property abroad which was 19% and for social contacts and personal development where same 7% and then for general interest were 5% and lowest was for foreign partner 3%.

The second chart shows the recent increase in people learning the highest was for buying property abroad was 34% then was for business and work 19% there was increase in social contacts was 15% and for no change was also 15% then for general assets was 6% for personal development and foreign partner was same as 4% and there was seen large decline in travel which was only 3%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both charts, but the analysis is largely a list of figures rather than a synthesis of the data. While you identify the highest and lowest points, you fail to group the information effectively or provide a clear overview of the trends. The description of the second chart is slightly confusing, as you label it as an 'increase' rather than a 'change in reason'. To improve, you should focus on comparing the categories across the two charts rather than listing them sequentially. The summary of the data is accurate, but the lack of analytical grouping limits the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is very limited and repetitive. You rely heavily on 'then was' and 'the next chart shows' to connect ideas, which makes the flow feel mechanical. There is a lack of sophisticated linking words or referencing to connect the two charts logically. To reach a higher band, you should use a wider variety of transition signals (e.g., 'In contrast', 'Furthermore', 'Conversely') and ensure that the progression of ideas between sentences is smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You repeat phrases like 'the highest was' and 'the lowest was' multiple times, which makes the writing repetitive. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'general assets' instead of 'general interest' and 'foreign partner' as a reason for learning. To improve, you should use a broader range of synonyms to describe data trends, such as 'accounted for', 'represented', 'peaked at', or 'experienced a significant shift'. The current range is sufficient for basic communication but does not demonstrate the flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Many sentences lack proper punctuation, such as missing commas after introductory phrases or between clauses. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'the highest was for buying property abroad was 34%'). The sentence structure is often fragmented, making it difficult to read in places. To improve, focus on using more varied sentence structures and proofreading for basic errors in verb tense and preposition usage to ensure the meaning is always clear.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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