Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-30

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 chart above illustrates the responses provided by the teachers of foreign languages in UK to a survey about their students who are learning a foreign language. The first pie chart depicts the main reason behind learning a foreign language. Additionally, the second one shows percentage of teachers feeling that there has been a recent change in the reason.

According to the first pie chart, we can clearly see that 33% teachers stated that the main reason behind learning a new language is travelling. Conversely, only 3% of them refers it to be for foreign partner.Moreover,26% of them think its for business and 19% of them think its for buying property overseas.7% teachers report the reason to be personal development. Same percentage also believes its for social contacts.5% of the teachers opine that it's for self interest.

Second pie chart depicts the percentage of teachers reporting reasons for recent increase in learning a foreign language.34% teachers report that buying property overseas is the reason behind recent increase of people in learning new language.19% of them think it's for business/work.15% of the teachers think there has been no change. Equal Magnitude believes social contacts to be a reason for it.6% teachers believes the recent increase is due to general interest.4% of them reports it to be a reason of personal development and another 4% reports the reasoning to be foreign partners.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by describing both pie charts. You have successfully identified the key features, such as the most common reason for learning (travelling) and the primary reason for the recent increase (buying property). However, the report lacks a clear overview or summary of the main trends. An effective IELTS Task 1 response should include an introductory paragraph, a clear overview highlighting the most significant differences or trends, and then detailed body paragraphs. By jumping straight into the data without synthesizing the information, the response feels like a list of figures rather than an analytical report. To improve, ensure you group related data points rather than listing them individually.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. For instance, you frequently start sentences with '33% teachers', '26% of them', or '19% of them'. This creates a repetitive rhythm that hinders the flow of the text. While you use some linking words like 'Conversely' and 'Moreover', the progression between ideas could be smoother. To achieve a higher band, try to vary your sentence starters and use a wider range of cohesive devices to connect the data points more naturally, rather than simply listing percentages one after another.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it is somewhat limited and repetitive. You rely heavily on basic phrasing such as 'the reason behind' and 'the percentage of teachers'. There are also some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'Equal Magnitude believes', which is not a standard way to describe data. To improve, you should aim to use more precise terminology for describing trends, such as 'a significant proportion', 'the vast majority', or 'a marginal figure'. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'reason' (e.g., 'motivation', 'justification', 'incentive') would also demonstrate a higher level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('33% teachers' instead of '33% of teachers') and inconsistent subject-verb agreement ('6% teachers believes'). Additionally, some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'only 3% of them refers it to be for foreign partner'. To reach a higher band, you need to improve your control over articles and pluralization, and ensure that your complex sentences are constructed accurately. Proofreading for small errors like these will significantly improve the overall quality of your writing.

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.