Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-04

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 two pie chart illustrates the proportion of students learning a foreign language, while first chart shows the reasonfor learning a foreign language and second chart displays teachers feelings about the reasons of recent changes.

Overall, it is clear that travel accounted for the highest figure in the first pie chart and foreign partner recorded for lowest and perosnal development and social contacts were unchanged. In contrast, buying property overseas experienced the highest number of portion in second chart, whereas travel highlighted for the lowest.

Initally, travel had highest portion whcih was 33% and business work recorded for 26%. Moreover, general interest stood at 5% and social contacts shared for 7% and the figure for personal development was constituted for 7%.

Secondly, buying property overseas was represented at 34% and 19% was accounted for either business or work. General interest was sisplayed at 6%. Social contacts were constituted for 15%. Personal development and foreign partner was displayed at 4% respectively, While 15% accounted for no change.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by covering both pie charts and selecting key features for comparison. The overview correctly highlights the highest figures, such as travel and buying property overseas, as well as areas that remained unchanged. However, some aspects of the information are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the student incorrectly states that personal development and social contacts were unchanged in the first chart, confusing this with the 'no change' category in the second chart. Furthermore, some data points are merely listed without sufficient comparative analysis. To reach a higher level, the response should ensure all data descriptions strictly reflect the source charts without misinterpreting labels or categories, while extending the comparisons between the two datasets more thoroughly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the report into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for each chart. Information is generally ordered logically, moving from general trends to specific data points. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. The transition words used at the beginning of paragraphs, such as 'Initally' and 'Secondly', feel somewhat formulaic and are inappropriate for comparing two separate charts presented side-by-side rather than sequentially over time. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'the second chart displays teachers feelings about the reasons of recent changes', which disrupts the logical flow. Improving the variety and accuracy of cohesive devices and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas would elevate the organization of the report.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying general concepts related to percentages, proportions, and survey results with terms like 'proportion', 'accounted for', and 'highest figure'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'constituted' and 'represented', but this is sometimes accompanied by inaccuracy or awkward phrasing, as in 'recorded for lowest' and 'highest number of portion'. There are also a few spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'perosnal' instead of 'personal', 'Initally' instead of 'Initially', and 'sisplayed' instead of 'displayed'. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they restrict the lexical score. A wider and more precise range of vocabulary, alongside careful proofreading for spelling and collocation, is needed for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ability to structure sentences using relative clauses and passive constructions, such as 'which was 33%' and 'was represented at 34%'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the text. Article usage is notably inconsistent and missing in several places, as seen in 'The two pie chart illustrates' (which also contains a subject-verb agreement error with 'chart') and 'while first chart shows'. Prepositional errors also occur frequently, such as 'recorded for' instead of 'recorded as', and 'shared for'. Additionally, punctuation and spelling slips persist. To improve, the writer needs to exert greater control over basic grammatical structures, particularly subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions within descriptive patterns.

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

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