Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-18

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 two Pie Chart shows the proportion of languages in context under two scenario namely reason for learning a foreign language and recent changes in the reason by teachers of foreign languages in Britain. They represent various reasons for learning foreign languages and how many teachers feels that there a certain amount of increase those reasons

Overall, it is clear that travelling is the most common reason for studying new languages in first chart, whereas foreign partner is reason is accounted for the smallest proportion. In the second chart, buying property overseas experienced the most significant rise, while foreign partner and personal development faced the least growth.

looking first at the reasons, travel is accounted for the largest proportion at 33%. This was followed by business/ work, which indicates 26%. In comparison, personal development shown at 7%, while foreign partner constituted the smallest portion at 3%.

Going forward to second pie chart, travel recorded the increase of 3% making it the category with least growth, perhaps buying land overseas rose by 34% which makes it the most inclined cause. Meanwhile, business/work experienced modest rise of 19%, whereas 15% is the proportion for no changes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The report covers the main features of the pie charts, including the primary reasons for learning and the perceived changes. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data interpretation. For example, you state that 'buying property overseas' rose by 34%, whereas the chart indicates this figure represents the percentage of teachers who noted a change, not the growth rate itself. Additionally, the description of the second chart is confusing, as you describe 'travel' as having the 'least growth' while simultaneously mentioning a 3% increase. The overview is present but lacks clarity due to these misinterpretations of the data. To improve, ensure you carefully distinguish between the categories and the percentages provided in the charts.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'looking first at', and 'Meanwhile' to transition between ideas. However, the referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Going forward to second pie chart' is slightly unnatural. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be strengthened by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns or references clearly point back to the intended data points.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'the largest proportion' and 'smallest portion'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'most inclined cause' and 'under two scenario'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there are errors in word formation (e.g., 'feels that there a certain amount of increase those reasons'). To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to trends and data description, such as 'predominant', 'marginal', or 'fluctuation'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('the two Pie Chart shows', 'how many teachers feels'), missing articles ('in first chart'), and awkward phrasing ('personal development shown at 7%'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these errors are quite frequent throughout the text. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures would also help improve your score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.