Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-25

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 first chart illustrate the reason why people are learning foreign language and the second chart show how teachers have felt that there has been a recent change in the reason.

Overall, most of the people learn different language because of travel reasons and the least of them learn because they have a foreign partner. However the teacher reported that the hightest number of people who are buying property are learing foreign languages and the lowest for travel reasons.

In terms of resons, 33% of people are learing due to travel reasons which is also the highest, followed by 26% for work or bussiness. People buying property represents 19% in the chart and social contacts at 7% same as personal development. The lowest of them was 3% because of foreign partner.

The recent report shows a different results the highest reason for learning change to buying property at 34%, the second is 19% for work and 15% of them shows no change and social contacts is also same. General interest at 6% and travel at 3% meanwhile personal development and foreign partner are at 4%.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify both charts and provide an overview, noting travel as the leading main reason and buying property overseas as the most frequently reported recent increase. You also include several relevant figures, such as 33% for travel, 26% for work/business, and 34% for property. However, the overview is not fully accurate: foreign partners are the least common main reason, but in the second chart travel, at 3%, is the lowest reported increase; personal development and foreign partners are both 4%. The phrase “the highest number of people who are buying property” also blurs the distinction between the reason itself and teachers reporting an increase. Some categories, including general interest, are omitted from the first chart, and the comparison between charts could be clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the two sets of figures. This helps the reader follow the broad topic, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In terms of” signal the stages of the report. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, particularly in the final paragraph, where figures are listed without consistently explaining what they represent. “The second is 19% for work” is followed by “15% of them shows no change,” making the relationship between categories less smooth. Some linking is mechanical, and the overview repeats information rather than establishing a precise comparison. Grouping the figures into larger and smaller categories, with clear references to each chart, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “foreign language,” “travel reasons,” “business,” “buying property,” and “social contacts,” so the reader can understand the main subject and categories. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or awkward, such as “the highest number of people who are buying property” and “the recent report shows a different results.” Repetition of “reason” and “people” also makes the report less precise. Spelling errors, including “learing,” “bussiness,” “resons,” and “hightest,” are noticeable and weaken control of vocabulary. Aim for accurate chart-reporting phrases such as “teachers cited” and “accounted for,” while checking spelling and choosing terms that distinguish a reason from a reported increase.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently in basic sentence construction and agreement. For example, “The first chart illustrate” and “the second chart show” need singular verb forms, while “a different results” has an article–plural mismatch. In “15% of them shows no change,” the verb does not agree with the subject. Articles and number are also inconsistent in “learning foreign language” and “the least of them.” Several sentences join multiple figures with limited punctuation, especially the final sentence, which makes the relationships harder to follow. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and article use, and separate lists of data into complete, clearly punctuated sentences.

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