Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The table below gives information about the five small companies in Britain that came top in a survey of staff conducted by a national newspaper to find out which companies are the best to work for.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

THE FIVE BEST SMALL COMPANIES TO WORK FOR

Student answer (Band 4.5)

the table shows data of small companies in Britain that ranked first in a survey of staff conducted by a national newspaper to find the best companies are best to work in.

overall, the 5th company is the largest in staff numbers and had the lowest staff turnover. While the first one had the smallest number of employees,The third one had the highest income of employees, while fouth had high propotion of female staff.

the fifth company employed 190 people , considerably more than the other four companies.whoes staff number is around (56and 79).in term of gender distribution

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies a few relevant features, including the fifth company’s workforce of 190 and the third company’s high-income share, but it does not accurately summarise the table overall. The overview says the fifth company had the lowest turnover, whereas its turnover was the highest at 33%; the lowest was 5% for the first company. It also calls the third company’s income the highest without giving the figure (74%), and the claim about the fourth company’s female staff is not developed with a comparison. The response ends mid-discussion and omits most key comparisons. It is also below the required 150 words: 86 words, with 12 copied prompt words excluded. Add a complete overview and select accurate comparisons across the categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is an attempt to organise the response with an opening description and an overview introduced by “overall,” and the contrast signalled by “While” shows some awareness of linking ideas. However, the information does not progress into a complete, clearly ordered summary: the final phrase, “in term of gender distribution,” is unfinished, and the response stops before explaining the comparison it introduces. The overview also combines several points without a clear structure, while the later sentence about staff numbers is difficult to follow. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and selected details, and group comparisons by category. Complete each sentence and use clear references to the companies so the reader can follow the comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, such as “staff numbers,” “gender distribution,” “staff turnover,” and “income,” and “considerably more” is an appropriate comparative phrase. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, spelling, and collocation errors make parts difficult to understand. For example, “the best companies are best to work in” is repetitive and awkward, while “highest income of employees” does not clearly express the proportion in the high-income bracket. “Propotion” and “fouth” are misspelled, and “wh oes staff number” appears to be an unsuccessful attempt at “whose staff numbers.” Use precise table language such as “ranked,” “proportion,” and “workforce,” and check spelling and phrasing carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a compound sentence with “While” and uses a comparative construction in “considerably more than the other four companies,” showing some structural variety. However, control is uneven: the opening sentence has an unclear construction (“that ranked first … to find the best companies are best”), and the overview shifts between sentence fragments and clauses joined with inconsistent punctuation. The capitalisation after “employees,The” is incorrect, and the final sentence is incomplete. There are also problems with articles and number agreement, as in “the 5th company” followed by “the other four companies” without consistently identifying the companies. Practise writing complete, clearly punctuated sentences, then check clause structure and agreement.

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

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