Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-25
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 illustrate major reasons for learning a foreign language and how the teachers have realised about the recent change.
Overall, the foreign language is predominantly learned for the purpose of travelling and for work. 19% people learn foreign language in order to avail properties abroad. The recent increased of learning foreign language is due to purchasing properties in a foreign country.
Almost, 7% people learn foreign language because of personal interest and same goes for social contacts.3% try to learn foreign language due to their international partners. There is general interest of 5% to learn foreign language on their own.
The recent reasons for learning foreign language is due to buy properties abroad, 34% individuals make effort to understand foreign language so that they may buy properties abroad. 15% of them learn foreign language in order to have social contacts abroad. The percent of travelling to learn foreign language has drastically reduced to 3%.
And same goes for personal interest, almost 4% of people learn foreign language for their personal developments.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the charts, but the analysis is somewhat inconsistent. While you identify key data points, the report lacks a clear distinction between the two charts, leading to confusion. For instance, you mention '19% people learn foreign language in order to avail properties abroad' in the first paragraph, but then discuss '34% individuals' for the same category in the second chart section. This makes it difficult for the reader to follow the data. To improve, ensure you clearly label which chart you are describing and provide a more accurate summary of the trends, ensuring the data matches the visual information provided.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow between ideas is weak. The transition between the general overview and the specific data points is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall' and 'In order to', but they are sometimes used mechanically or incorrectly, such as the repetitive use of 'And same goes for'. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks a clear progression, making the report feel like a list of statistics rather than a cohesive analysis of the provided information.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'avail properties abroad' and 'recent increased of learning'. The repetition of 'foreign language' throughout the text makes the writing feel monotonous. To achieve a higher score, you should use a wider range of synonyms and more precise collocations related to data reporting, such as 'the proportion of', 'a significant rise', or 'a downward trend', rather than relying on basic descriptive language.
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 clarity. Examples include 'The recent increased of learning' (should be 'increase'), 'due to buy properties' (should be 'due to buying'), and 'The percent of travelling... has drastically reduced' (should be 'percentage'). Subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic tense and word-form errors would significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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