Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-07

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 6.5)

The pie charts demonstrate the responses given by teachers teaching foreign languages in Britain to a survey about the reasons for students learning new languages. The first pie chart depicts the reasons for learning a foreign language. Meanwhile, the second pie chart depicts the number of teachers that believe that the reasons have changed recently.

Overall, travel was considered the most common reason, followed by work and buying properties overseas. On the other hand the teachers reported than the main reason now is buying property overseas followed by work and an intension to make social contacts.

Almost one-third of the teachers believed that travel was the major reason for learning a new language. Around one-fourth reported work while 19% reported an intension of buying an overseas property. A small number believed that general interest, social contacts, personal development or having a foreign partner are the reason

It is noteworthy that recently, travel witnessed a significant decline to only 3%, buying property overseas has been reported as the main reason (34%), followed by work (19%). Social contacts saw a significant increase (15%). A substantial proprtion of the teachers report no change (15%).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The report identifies the main pattern in both charts: travel leads as the most common reason (33%), while buying property overseas is the largest category among reasons showing a recent increase (34%). It also includes several relevant comparisons, such as work at 26% in the first chart and 19% in the second. This gives the reader a clear overview, but some details are incomplete or imprecise. The first chart’s smaller categories are grouped without figures, and the second chart’s 4% for foreign partners and 4% for personal development are omitted. Also, “the main reason now” overstates what the second chart shows: it reports perceived increases, not the current distribution of reasons. More precise coverage and interpretation would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to details from each chart. This makes the information easy to follow overall, and transitions such as “Meanwhile” and “It is noteworthy” help signal shifts. However, the overview’s phrase “the main reason now” blurs the distinction between the charts, and the final paragraph combines several figures without fully explaining their relationship to the survey question. Some linking is also mechanical, while “On the other hand” does not express a strong contrast between the two overview points. To improve progression, group the figures by chart and use more precise references to what teachers reported, rather than implying a direct change in the reasons themselves.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of vocabulary for describing the charts, including “major reason,” “significant decline,” “followed by,” and “substantial.” These choices help communicate comparisons and changes. Some less common expressions are attempted, but several are inaccurate or awkward: “an intension of buying” is not a natural way to describe a reason, and “a substantial proprtion” contains a spelling error. “Buying properties overseas” is less precise than the chart’s category, “buying property overseas,” while “witnessed a significant decline” suggests a measured change over time that the chart does not establish. Aim for accurate, neutral reporting language and check spelling and collocations. This would make the vocabulary more precise without requiring unnecessarily elaborate wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, including the contrastive opening “Meanwhile, the second pie chart depicts…” and the sentence describing several categories together. Most meanings remain clear, but some grammatical errors and incomplete constructions are present. The final sentence of the third paragraph ends with “are the reason” and lacks final punctuation; the plural list also does not fit smoothly with the singular ending. In “the teachers reported than,” the clause marker is incorrect, and “followed by work and an intension” creates an unclear parallel structure. There is also inconsistent use of articles and number in phrases such as “buying properties” versus “buying property.” Review clause links, agreement, and sentence completion to improve accuracy.

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