Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-29

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 first pie chart illustrates the information about responses by teachers of foreign languages in Britain to a survey concerning why their pupils are learning a foreign language.

Overall, the pie chart gives the information about percentages of teachers reporting common reasons for learning and recent increases in people learning.

First of all, as we compared both pie charts they have a common 5% general interest. In the first chart we can see that 33% people were learning foreign communication skills for travelling, 26% people learn language for business/work, 19% for buying property overseas and 7% for both social contracts and personal development.

Secondly, the second chart shows the reasons why there is a recent rise in people learning foreign language there is no change for about 15%, people leaning language 3% for travelling, 19% for work, 34% for purchasing property in foreign country, 4 percent in both personal development and foreign partner and 15% for social contacts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies several relevant figures, including travel (33%), work (26%), overseas property (19%), and the largest reported recent increase, property (34%). However, it does not provide a clear, accurate overview of the main patterns, and the claim that both charts share a 5% figure for general interest is incorrect: the second chart shows 6%. The first chart’s 3% for a foreign partner is omitted, and the second chart’s 4% for this reason is mentioned without clarifying that it represents an increase. The report is also only 144 words, below the required 150. Add a concise overview and compare the charts accurately, including the contrast between travel’s high first-chart share and low recent increase.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and two paragraphs that move from the first chart to the second. This makes the general sequence understandable. However, progression is limited, and linking phrases such as “First of all” and “Secondly” feel mechanical rather than showing meaningful comparisons. The overview repeats that the charts give information but does not summarise the key patterns. The sentence beginning “as we compared both pie charts” introduces an inaccurate comparison and makes the organisation less clear. Group the most important features by contrast—for example, the leading reasons in the first chart versus the reasons showing the strongest recent increase—and use clearer references to each chart.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the broad subject and several categories, with relevant terms such as “business/work,” “personal development,” and “buying property overseas.” There is some variation in phrasing, including “purchasing property in foreign country.” However, word choice and collocation are often imprecise: “foreign communication skills” is not a natural description of learning a language for travel, and “social contracts” changes the meaning of “social contacts.” “People leaning language” also appears to be a spelling or word-choice error that interrupts reading. Use the chart’s category labels consistently and choose precise reporting language, such as “teachers cited travel” or “the share reporting property purchases.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with a few attempts to combine ideas, such as “as we compared both pie charts.” These attempts show some range, but control is uneven. For example, “the second chart shows the reasons why there is a recent rise … there is no change” joins two ideas without clear grammatical separation, while “people learn language” lacks an article and has an awkward tense choice. The opening sentence is understandable, but the report would benefit from more accurate plural and article use, as in “people were learning a foreign language” and “in a foreign country.” Use a wider mix of controlled comparison structures, and check sentence boundaries and verb forms before submitting.

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