Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-14

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)

A survey was carried out in Britain. where teachers shared the reasons why students learn foreign languages. The survey was done in two parts, the second time mentioning if the teachers think the reasons have changed.

Earlier, teachers thought most students learnt foreign languages for the purpose of travelling or working, 33% and 26%, respectively. They believe the next been factor is buying overseas property, 19% of the teachers.

In the most recent leg of the survey, 19% teachers think a increase in foreign language learners is for business purposes. Where earlier 7% teachers though social contacts was the reason for new language learning, now 15% think so. Only 3% teachers attributed the increase in learners to travel purposes.

Overall, we see that the reasons for increase in the number of students learning a foreign language have changed a lot as per teachers, moving from travel to buying property overseas as the top reasons.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The report identifies several relevant figures, including travel (33%), business/work (26%), and buying overseas property (19%) as leading reasons, and it notes the rise in teachers citing property purchases (34%). However, coverage of the charts is incomplete and the overview is not fully accurate. The second chart reports teachers’ views about reasons for a recent increase, not a direct comparison between an earlier and a later survey; phrases such as “Earlier” and “in the most recent leg” imply a time series that is not shown. The response also omits important results, especially the 15% reporting no change and the 34% figure as the largest increase category. Present both charts’ main patterns clearly and distinguish the most common reason from reasons for recent increases.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable paragraph structure: it introduces the survey, gives figures from each chart, and ends with an overall statement. This provides some organisation, and the comparisons are generally easy to follow. However, progression is weakened by the unclear time framing in “Earlier” and “In the most recent leg,” which makes the two charts sound like successive surveys. Some links are also awkward or incomplete: “Where earlier 7% teachers…” does not connect smoothly to the preceding sentence, and the final overview repeats the idea of change without resolving the chart distinction. Use a clearer sequence—introduction, overview, then details for each chart—and link comparisons with precise references to what each chart measures.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “foreign languages,” “business purposes,” “social contacts,” and “buying overseas property.” The writer also attempts paraphrase rather than simply repeating the chart labels. Some choices, however, are imprecise or unnatural: “the next been factor” is unclear, “the most recent leg” is not an appropriate description of the second chart, and “new language learning” is less natural than “learning a foreign language.” “Reasons for increase” also needs a more precise formulation. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, but more accurate collocations and consistent chart terminology would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple statements and more developed structures, such as “Earlier, teachers thought most students learnt…” and the concluding clause beginning “moving from…”. Meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. The opening has an incorrect full stop after “Britain,” and “19% teachers” and “7% teachers” omit the article “of.” In “They believe the next been factor,” the verb phrase is malformed, while “a increase” has an article error. The sentence beginning “Where earlier…” is also a fragment rather than a complete sentence. Check sentence boundaries, articles, and verb forms, and make sure each comparison is expressed in a complete clause.

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