Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-27

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 illustrates the survey by teachers for reasons behind learning a foreign language by their students. And another charts presents the percentage of teachers reporting changes in the reason. Looking at the data, it is readily apparent that travel have been accounted for the largest share and foreign partner recorded least percentage in reason for learning foreign language. Also Buying property overseas was the main reason with highest percentage and travel fell to the bottom after the recent reporting.

In the most common reasons, travel being most common reason, business or work holds 26% and buying property remained at 19%. Whereas, remaining reason such as personal development and social contacts shared same percentage that is 7%. General interest at 5% remained second-last, while foreign partner had the least percentage of 3%.

The teachers reporting increase in changes in reason showed many variations where travel increased marginally by 3%, while buying properties overseas surged to a high of 34%. Moreover, Personal development, foreign partner and general interest rose steadily by 4%, 4% and 6% respectively. Teachers reported significant increase in social contacts as a reason for people foreign language. There were 15% people whose reason for learning overseas language remained unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the charts, but the analysis is inconsistent. You successfully identify key data points such as the 26% for business and the 3% for foreign partners. However, the report suffers from significant inaccuracies in interpreting the data. For instance, you state that 'travel fell to the bottom' after the recent reporting, which is not supported by the provided charts. Additionally, the description of the second chart is confusing, as you describe specific percentage increases that are not clearly linked to the visual data provided. To improve, ensure that your summary of trends is strictly supported by the figures and that you clearly distinguish between the two distinct datasets.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into three paragraphs, which is a logical structure for a report. You use some cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'moreover', and 'also' to link ideas. However, the progression of information is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition between categories feels mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final sentence where 'people' is used in a way that does not clearly relate to the data. Improving the use of linking phrases and ensuring each paragraph has a clear focus would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'surged', 'marginally', and 'remained unchanged'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'travel have been accounted for the largest share' (should be 'travel accounted for') and 'people foreign language' (missing 'learning a'). Some phrasing is repetitive, and the lack of precision in describing the data trends limits the score. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary is used accurately in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('The pie charts illustrates', 'travel have been accounted'), missing articles ('recorded least percentage'), and awkward phrasing ('shared same percentage that is 7%'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that articles and prepositions are used correctly.

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

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