Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-07-26

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 7.5)

The table provides information about the five small enterprises with the best working conditions in the European nation of Great Britain, according to a newspaper article in a survey of staff.

Overall, the company positioned first has the fewest staff, and the company positioned fifth has the highest number of staff. The company positioned fifth has the best male-to-female ratio among the group. The lowest staff turnover was recorded in the highest-ranking company. Whereas the staff in the high-income bracket was mostly recorded in the third-ranked enterprise.

Additionally, the highest-ranked company had only 56 staff, which is significantly lower than other companies, and the lowest-positioned enterprise had 190 staff, which is the highest of the 5 companies. The last-positioned company had a male-to-female ratio of 51:49, which is the best ratio among the companies, whereas the fourth-positioned company had a male-to-female ratio of 13:87, making it the worst in the category.

Furthermore, the last-positioned company had the most staff under 35, with almost 93% aged under 35. On the other hand, the fourth-ranked enterprise had the most staff aged over 55, with 8% of staff aged above 55. The runner-up had the highest turnover with 18%, and the second-runner-up had the most staff in the high-income bracket with 74%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response effectively covers the main features of the data provided. You have successfully identified key trends, such as the inverse relationship between company rank and staff size, and highlighted specific data points like the male-to-female ratios and age demographics. The overview is clear and provides a good summary of the information. To reach a higher band, ensure that all comparisons are fully integrated; for instance, while you mention the highest and lowest staff numbers, explicitly linking these to the ranking order throughout the body paragraphs would strengthen the analytical quality of the report.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs that group information by category. You use a variety of cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'additionally', and 'on the other hand' to connect ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally smooth, but ensure that each paragraph focuses on a distinct theme to avoid minor repetition of company rankings. Overall, the structure is easy to follow and the information is presented in a coherent manner.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey information precisely, using terms like 'enterprise', 'turnover', and 'bracket'. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is generally successful. However, there are minor issues with word choice, such as referring to 'the European nation of Great Britain' (Great Britain is an island/geographical term, not a nation) and 'second-runner-up' (which is slightly informal for an academic report). Expanding your range of collocations related to data description would further improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear and error-free, though there are occasional minor slips, such as 'in a survey of staff' which could be phrased more naturally as 'based on a staff survey'. Punctuation is generally accurate, and the grammatical control is sufficient to ensure that the meaning is never obscured. To achieve a higher band, try to incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures, such as passive voice constructions or participle clauses, to describe the data more fluidly.

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