Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The table illustrates the information about the five small companies in Britain that ranked highest in a survey of staff organized by a national newspaper to find out which firms are best to work for.

Overall, it shows the positions 1st to 5th in survey. The staff members, male and female ratio, under 35s/ over 55s, staff turnover, staff in high income bracket were included in the survey.

In terms of size, the firm in 5th position hired 190 people as compared to the organisation in 1st position has hired lowest people. In contrast, the firm in 4th position has the highest employed women which have highest ratio than the other companies.

Regarding age, most firms hired a young employed force for about 93%. Similarily, 74% ranked 3rd have the staff in high income bracket, far above the 2% or 5% .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the table’s subject and make a few relevant comparisons, including the largest workforce in fifth place and the high-income figures for third-, fourth- and fifth-ranked firms. However, the overview mainly lists the categories rather than summarising the main patterns, and several details are inaccurate or unclear: the first-ranked company has 56 staff, but you do not explicitly identify this as the smallest workforce; the fourth-ranked firm has the highest female proportion, not necessarily the highest number of women; and “most firms” having about 93% under-35s is not supported (the figures range from 26% to 93%). The response is also 25 words below the 150-word minimum. Develop a clearer overview and report key comparisons accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, sensible sequence: an introduction, a general statement, and then comments on company size, gender, age and income. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In terms of size,” and “Regarding age” help signal the topic of each section. However, the progression is limited because the overview simply names the table’s categories, and the final paragraph combines age and income without clearly connecting the comparisons. Some references, such as “which have highest ratio,” are difficult to follow. Organise the body around a small number of clear comparisons and use linking language to show contrasts between companies, rather than relying mainly on topic labels.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a table, including “ranked,” “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” and “in contrast.” This gives you enough language to communicate the general subject. However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise: “hired a young employed force” and “lowest people” do not express the intended comparisons clearly, while “highest employed women” confuses a proportion with a number. “Similarily” is also misspelled. Aim for accurate, conventional phrases such as “workforce,” “the smallest number of employees,” and “the highest proportion of female staff.” More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a comparison with “as compared to” and a relative clause in “which have highest ratio.” However, errors occur often enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. For example, “the organisation in 1st position has hired lowest people” has an incorrect verb construction and missing article, while “the firm in 4th position has the highest employed women which have highest ratio” has problems with clause structure and agreement. The sentence beginning “Overall, it shows the positions” is also incomplete in meaning. Practise forming accurate comparisons and checking articles, verb forms and sentence boundaries before adding more complex clauses.

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