Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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

THE FIVE BEST SMALL COMPANIES TO WORK FOR

Student answer (Band 4.5)

The table below demonstrates some information about the fie small foundations in Britain that stood up on the top after a research of staff conducted by a national newspaper to measure which companies are the first priorty to work. Staff ranges by number, gender, age ratio, staff turnover, and with staff in high income bracket.

Firstly, the company which has highest number of staff have lowest number of staff in high income bracket while company with average number of staff, member has highest staff in high income bracket. gender also palys in high income bracket which is higher in female than in male.

Age also matters a lot in the

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response3.5
Coherence and Cohesion3.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify several relevant categories, including staff numbers, gender, age, turnover and income, and you make two potentially useful comparisons: the largest company has the smallest high-income share, while the third-ranked company has the largest. However, the response is incomplete and does not provide a clear, accurate overview of the table as a whole. The claim that gender affects the high-income bracket, with a higher figure for women, is not supported by the data. The final sentence, “Age also matters a lot in the”, is unfinished, and most figures and comparisons are omitted. The response is 102 words, below the 150-word minimum; the eight words copied from the prompt are excluded from that count. Select key contrasts and support them with accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence introduces the table, followed by “Firstly” and a short overview of possible comparisons. This gives the reader some indication of the intended structure. However, the ideas do not develop in a clear sequence, and the response ends abruptly with “Age also matters a lot in the”. The opening list of categories is not followed by separate, organised comparisons, while the link between gender and income is unclear. To improve progression, use a brief introduction, a distinct overview, and one or two body paragraphs grouping related data. Connect each comparison explicitly and complete every sentence so the reader can follow the account.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to describing the table, such as “staff turnover”, “gender”, “age ratio” and “high income bracket”, so the topic is generally recognisable. There are also attempts to paraphrase the task rather than simply repeat it. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “stood up on the top”, “first priorty to work” and “average number of staff, member”. These expressions make the intended meaning difficult to interpret, and spelling errors such as “fie” and “palys” reduce control. Aim for precise, conventional language for rankings and comparisons, such as “ranked first”, “the largest workforce” and “the highest proportion”. Check spelling and use collocations that describe the data directly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentence structures, including “the company which has highest number of staff have lowest number of staff in high income bracket”, and uses a relative clause. However, control is uneven: articles are missing (“the highest number”, “the lowest proportion”), and the subject–verb relationship is unclear in “the company … have”. The sentence beginning “gender also…” has an unclear grammatical connection between its clauses, and the final sentence is incomplete. Most of the response relies on simple statements or fragments, so the range is limited. Build accurate comparisons with patterns such as “The company with the largest workforce had the lowest proportion of high earners,” and proofread for complete sentences, agreement and articles.

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