Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-27
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 provide responses by foreign language tutors in Great Britain why their students are learning a foreign language.
Overall, the first chart shows the formation about the proportions of primary reasons for learning a foreign language. Another chart illustrates the proportions of teachers who thought there had been significant recent changes in the reason
Looking at the first chart, it shows the traveling and business, or work covers more than a half of the percentages (about 58%) of primary reasons for student to learn a foreign language. Buying property abroad listed as second greatest proportions of it which is up to 18%. Personal development, foreign partner, social contacts and general interest generated about 22% for students to learn a foreign language. Furthermore, foreign partner listed least proportions among these categories (only 3%).
The other chart shows the growth of why students are learning a foreign language recently. Once more buying property abroad and business, or work covers more than a half of the proportions (about 53%). Travel listed as the least percentages (only 3%) personal development, foreign partner, no change, general interest and social contacts generated about 48% among these categories.
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 student covers all parts of the task by describing the two pie charts, presenting an overview, and highlighting key categories such as travel, business, and buying property abroad. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and omissions in the reporting. For instance, the student states that buying property abroad was up to 18% in the first chart, whereas the correct figure is 19%. Furthermore, some categories are lumped together into vague percentages (e.g., 'generated about 22%'), which detracts from precise data reporting. Despite these minor flaws, the main features of the charts are adequately identified, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into four clear paragraphs, featuring a brief introduction, an overview sentence, and separate body paragraphs for each chart. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'Looking at the first chart', and 'The other chart'. However, referencing and progression are occasionally faulty, as seen in the phrase 'the formation about the proportions' and awkward grouping of categories. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate, but the logical flow between sentences within the body paragraphs could be smoother and more precise, placing this response firmly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with appropriate references to data description such as 'proportions', 'categories', 'growth', and 'greatest proportions'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'shows the formation about' instead of 'information about', 'traveling' used as a noun incorrectly, and 'listed as the least percentages'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary ('generated', 'categories'), but the frequent inaccuracies in collocation and phrasing prevent the score from reaching Band 7.0, making Band 6.0 the most appropriate descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The pie charts provide responses...' and 'Another chart illustrates the proportions of teachers who thought there had been significant recent changes...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, including missing prepositions or articles ('tutors in Great Britain why their students', 'listed as second greatest proportions'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('travel and business, or work covers'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 7.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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