Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-18
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 charts illustrate the proportions of foreign language teachers in Britain who reported the main reasons why their students learn a foreign language and whether these motivations have changed recently.
Overall the proportion varied considerably among the students.whiletravel accounted for the most common reason whereas foriegn partner represented as a least common reason.In addition the overall reasons changes significantly with some categories increasing substantially while other declined.
to begin with travel accounted for approximately 33% making it the largest category.this was follwed by business which represented around 26%.together these two categories represented the majority of the total reason for learning Meanwhile buying property constituted approximately 19%.
turning to the remaining categories general interested accounted for 5% while social contract and personal development both represented 7%.finally friegn partner stood at 3%.Aditionally recent reason for learning depicts that people learn for buying property accounted for 34% followed by business work which stood at 19%. some categories experienced noticeable change only no change in survey represented around 15%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main reason in the first chart accurately: travel is highest at 33%, while having a foreign partner is lowest at 3%. You also report several other figures correctly, including business/work at 26% and buying property at 19%. However, the second chart is only partly described. You mention buying property at 34%, business/work at 19%, and “no change” at 15%, but omit important comparisons such as travel at 3% and social contacts at 15%. The overview says categories increased or declined, although the chart reports teachers’ views of recent increases and includes a no-change category; this makes the trend summary unclear. A more complete overview and clearer comparison of both charts would strengthen the report.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs covering the first and second charts. This gives the information an overall arrangement that readers can follow. You also use sequencing phrases such as “to begin with,” “turning to,” and “finally.” However, progression becomes less clear in the final paragraph, where first-chart details are followed by second-chart figures without a clear transition or systematic comparison. Some linking is mechanical, and punctuation problems—such as “Meanwhile” running into the preceding sentence—make connections harder to follow. Organise the two charts in distinct, clearly signposted sections and use transitions to show how the figures relate.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some appropriate chart-reporting vocabulary, including “proportions,” “accounted for,” “represented,” and “constituted,” and these help communicate the figures. There is also some variation in how you describe shares. However, inaccurate word forms and spelling weaken precision: “foriegn,” “follwed,” “interested,” “contract,” and “Aditionally” appear in place of the intended terms. Some expressions are also unnatural or unclear, such as “the overall reasons changes significantly” and “recent reason for learning depicts.” Use precise labels from the chart and check spelling carefully. A more controlled range of collocations—for example, “the most commonly reported reason” and “teachers reported an increase”—would make the report clearer and more natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple statements and more complex comparisons, including “whereas” and “while,” and the main figures can generally be understood. However, sentence boundaries and punctuation are often unreliable: “Overall the proportion varied considerably among the students.whiletravel…” joins ideas incorrectly, and several later sentences run together or lack capitalisation after full stops. There are also problems with sentence construction and agreement, as in “the overall reasons changes significantly,” and the final sentence beginning “some categories experienced…” is incomplete or unclear in its relationship to the preceding clause. These errors sometimes make the reader work to identify the intended meaning. Practise forming complete sentences, checking subject–verb agreement, and using full stops and commas consistently.
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