Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-17

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:

% of teachers reporting the following as most common reason for learning:

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The two charts display proportion of linguistic teachers reporting common reasons for learning languages and increase number of people with different reasons nowadays, in Uk.

Overall , the highest portion of teachers reported travel as common reason followed by business and work whereas least reported desire of foreign partner as reason to learn languages. however , recently many teachers reported different reasons out of which buying properties being the most prominent whereas very small number accounted for travel and only small amount reported no change.

To begin with , 33% teachers reported travelling as the most significant reason followed by business and work as 26% and buying property as 19%. Only 7% reported personal development and social contacts followed by 5% as general interest , only 3% were reported to search for foreign partner.

Turning to ,

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern in the first chart accurately: travel is highest at 33%, followed by business/work at 26%, while foreign partners are lowest at 3%. You also recognise buying property overseas as the leading reason associated with a recent increase. However, the report is incomplete: the second chart is not described with its figures, and the final paragraph stops at “Turning to,” leaving that part of the task unanswered. The overview also misreads the second chart by saying “only small amount reported no change”; the chart gives 15% for no change, while travel is 3%. The response is 137 words, below the 150-word minimum. Include the remaining comparisons and complete the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph giving figures from the first chart. The sequence within that paragraph is understandable, and phrases such as “Overall” and “To begin with” signal the stages of the report. However, progression is limited because the second chart is introduced only by the unfinished phrase “Turning to,” so the report has no completed comparison or conclusion. Some linking is mechanical, and the overview combines several points without clearly distinguishing the two charts. Use separate, purposeful paragraphs for the overview and each chart, and connect comparisons explicitly—for example, contrast the 34% for property with the 3% for travel.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “proportion,” “prominent,” “personal development,” and “social contacts,” and the intended meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts to vary wording, such as “highest portion” and “most significant reason.” Some choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing survey data: “increase number of people” would be clearer as “an increase in the number of learners,” and “desire of foreign partner” is not a natural collocation. “Buying properties” also shifts the chart’s category from buying property overseas. Aim for precise, consistent labels and standard chart-reporting phrases such as “accounted for” or “was reported by.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes some simple and more developed sentence forms, and the main figures can usually be understood. However, errors in articles, agreement, and sentence construction are frequent enough to make the writing less controlled. For example, “display proportion” needs an article, “33% teachers reported” should be “33% of teachers reported,” and “buying properties being the most prominent” is not a complete grammatical clause. The opening sentence also has an awkward structure around “increase number of people.” Punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent, as in “Overall ,” and “however ,”. Practise complete clauses and check articles, prepositions, and punctuation when editing.

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