Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-01

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 given charts depict the percentage of teachers of foreign language responding in a survey taken about the common reasons why student learn foreign languages as well as shows how many teachers felt that there has been recent changes in the reason. The survey is taken in Britain.

Primarily, first pie chart shows the proportion of teachers reporting the reason for learning the language. It was found that 33% of teacher considered travel is the most common reason for students learning foreign languages followed by business/work which is 26% and buying property overseas was 19%. Furthermore, other reason were not supported much which includes General interest about 5%, Social contact around 7% and same proportion for personal development and the least of 3% of teacher agreed with the reason foreign partner.

Secondarily, second pie chart shows the proportion of teacher who think the reason are now change. 34% of teaching faculty believes that the reason of buying property overseas has increased and around 19% thinks that the reason which is more common now is business/work. Moreover 15% teachers thinks that languages are learned because social contacts has increased also 15% still thinks there is no change at all in the reasons. In addition 4% of faculty think that might be personal development had increased and similar amount thinks foreign partner is the new common reason and at last 6% are in favour of general interest.

Overall, the past information tells that travel was the major reason for student learning foreing languages and 15% still thinks the same but however majority of teacher thinks the reason are recently change in the time and have their own opinion on the reason now.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by reporting data from both pie charts, and it presents a clear overview at the end. However, some aspects are under-developed or inaccurately reported. For instance, the student misinterprets the second chart, stating that '34% of teaching faculty believes that the reason of buying property overseas has increased', whereas the chart actually shows that 34% of teachers reported a recent increase in people learning for this reason. Additionally, some comparisons lack precise selection, and the summary in the final paragraph contains confusion regarding the data trends, presenting a limited and slightly inaccurate overview of the visual information.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The report has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs detailing each chart, followed by an overview. Logical organisation is generally present, but the progression is sometimes affected by mechanical or repetitive cohesive devices, such as 'Primarily, first pie chart', 'Secondarily, second pie chart', and 'In addition'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as in the concluding sentence where 'the past information' and pronouns like 'they' make the logical link between ideas somewhat confusing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the different visual elements.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic data such as percentages and categories like 'travel', 'business/work', and 'general interest'. However, the range is limited, and there are noticeable errors in word form, choice, and spelling. Examples include 'foreign language' instead of the plural 'foreign languages', 'student learn' instead of 'students learn', 'recent changes in the reason' instead of 'reasons', and spelling errors such as 'foreing'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy, but meaning is still generally conveyed despite these slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain errors. There are noticeable grammatical issues regarding subject-verb agreement and articles, such as '33% of teacher considered travel is' (should be 'teachers considered that travel was') and 'other reason were not supported' (should be 'other reasons'). Punctuation and prepositions also show recurring errors, such as 'survey taken about the common reasons' and missing commas in introductory clauses. While these errors are noticeable and require some effort from the reader, they rarely completely impede communication.

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

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