Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-24

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 5.0)

The charts compare the common reason and increasing reason for learning a foreign languages reporting by the teachers in Britain to a survey concerning why their students are learning a foreign language.

Overall,the most common and recently increasing reason for learning is buying property and overseas. The most lowest common and recently increasing reason for learning is foreign partner.

The high percentage of most common reason was travel is 33% and next was business and work is 26%.The high percentage of recent increasing reason was buying property overseas is 34% and next was business and work is 19%.

The low percentage of most common reason was foreign partner is 3% and next was general interest is 5%.The low percentage of recent increasing reason was foreign partner and personal development is 4% and next was general interest is 6%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the two charts and include several accurate key figures, such as travel at 33% as the leading common reason and buying property overseas at 34% as the leading reason for a recent increase. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: buying property overseas was not the most common reason overall, and foreign partners were not the lowest recent-increase category, since travel was only 3%. The report also omits important comparisons, including the 15% reporting no change and the contrast between travel’s high common-reason figure and low increase figure. The response contains 124 words, below the required 150, which limits the coverage and development of the data. Add a fuller, accurate overview and more key comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate statements about the highest and lowest figures. This gives the reader some organisation, and words such as “Overall” and “next” signal relationships between points. However, progression is limited because the body repeats the same “high percentage” and “low percentage” pattern rather than grouping the charts or comparing related categories. Some links are also awkward or unclear, and spacing and punctuation are inconsistent, as in “Overall,the” and “26%.The”. Organise the information into clearer paragraphs, use comparisons to connect the charts, and vary linking expressions so the report does not feel repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “reason,” “travel,” and “business and work,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are unnatural or imprecise, such as “increasing reason,” “most lowest common,” and “buying property and overseas.” These choices sometimes make the intended comparison difficult to follow. Use standard chart-reporting collocations, for example “reason for the recent increase,” “least common reason,” and “buying property overseas.” Also avoid repeating “high percentage” and “low percentage”; terms such as “largest share” and “smallest proportion” would make the description more precise and varied.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Most sentences are short and follow a simple pattern, which helps convey individual figures, but the range of structures is limited. Attempts to form complete comparisons are often faulty: “travel was 33% and next was business and work is 26%” mixes past and present forms and lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also errors in articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries, as in “a foreign languages” and “26%.The high percentage”. The overview sentence “Overall,the most common…” also needs punctuation spacing. Practise accurate comparative sentences such as “Travel was the most common reason, at 33%, followed by work at 26%.” Greater control of these basic patterns will improve clarity.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.