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:

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The pie charts beneath illustrate the main reason why pupils learn foreign language and while teachers believe these reasons have changed recently.

Overall, The first chart show travel had a higher than all while foreign partner had a lower trend all the chart. Travel had a lower trend in the second chart whereas buying property overseas accounted for higher than others.

In the first chart, Travel showed an upward trend, reaching 33%. The second most common reason was having a foreign partner, which accounted for the lowest percentage among all the reasons. Moreover, personal development and social contacts both accounted for the same proportion. General interest accounted for 5% while buying property overseas accounted for 19%. Business made up 26% of all the total.

Buying property overseas accounted for higher proportion 34% in the second chart whereas followed by travel at 3%. Foreign partner 1% increased in second chart. Furthermore, Personal development decreased gradual 3% while social contacts significantly grew 8%. General interest declined 1%. In contrast, business also fell 7% compared with first chart.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern in both charts: travel is the leading reason in the first, while buying property overseas is the largest category in the second. Several figures are also reported accurately, including 33% for travel, 26% for business/work and 34% for property. However, the overview is unclear and does not explain that the second chart reports teachers’ views of recent increases, rather than a directly comparable distribution of reasons. Some comparisons are inaccurate: foreign partners rise from 3% to 4%, not by 1% as a general trend, and personal development falls from 7% to 4%, a decrease of 3 percentage points. The report also omits the 15% reporting no change. A clearer overview and more precise interpretation of the second chart would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and separate paragraphs for the two charts. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: the first-chart paragraph moves between categories without a clear ranking, and the second-chart paragraph lists changes without explaining the chart’s different meaning. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore” and “In contrast” are used, but some connections are unclear or do not accurately signal the relationship between figures. The overview also repeats information from the body rather than establishing a concise comparison. Grouping the largest categories together, then the smaller ones, and using clearer references to each chart would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “accounted for,” “proportion,” “percentage” and “declined,” and the reader can generally understand which categories you mean. However, several collocations and word choices are inaccurate or awkward, such as “higher than all,” “lower trend all the chart” and “higher proportion 34%.” “Upward trend” is also unsuitable for a single percentage in a chart that does not show change over time. Repetition of “accounted for” and “chart” limits the range, while “business” is less precise than the chart’s “business/work.” Aim for standard reporting phrases such as “the largest share,” “was the least common reason” and “teachers reported an increase.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts at longer structures, including “The second most common reason was having a foreign partner, which accounted for…” and the contrast introduced by “whereas.” However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “The first chart show,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect, and “Buying property overseas accounted for higher proportion 34%,” which lacks an article and a clear grammatical structure. The opening sentence’s “and while” construction is also faulty, and several later clauses omit subjects or verbs, as in “Foreign partner 1% increased in second chart.” Capitalisation after commas is inconsistent. Practise complete sentence patterns and check articles, agreement and clause structure.

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