Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-08

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 line graph illustrates the number of international visitors to three diverse areas in a European country from 1987 and 2007. And the information measured in thousands namely, the coastal area, the mountains and the lakes.

Overall it is evident that number of visitors to all three areas increased over the period. Meanwhile, the coast recorded steadily overall growth and became a most popular destination by the end of the period whereas the lakes experienced most fluctuation. However it had become the most common part in 2002. In contrast, the mountains remained the lowest figure throughout the period.

Looking at the more details, the coast decreased from 40 in 1987 to around 35 by 1992. However, then those sharply and became a most popular place in final year. While the lakes grew from 10 in initial year to 40 in 1997, then dramatically escalated to such a peak almost 75,000 people in 2002 before declining 50,000 in 2007.

In remaining area, the mountains recorded the least number of individuals was from 20,000 in initial year to about 30,000 in 1997, then to reach at approximately 35,000 by the end of the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0

The response fails to address the prompt provided. The task instructions and image refer to a survey of 'The Five Best Small Companies to Work For', yet the student has written a report about a line graph concerning 'international visitors to three diverse areas'. This is a complete mismatch of the task. While the student attempts to summarise data, the content is entirely irrelevant to the provided prompt. Consequently, the response cannot be assessed as fulfilling the requirements of the task, as it describes a completely different set of data than what was presented.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. There is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'In contrast', and 'However'. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by the fact that the content does not match the prompt. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the mechanical use of transition words suggests a template-like approach. Despite the irrelevance of the content, the structure itself follows a standard report format, which prevents a lower score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for describing trends, such as 'fluctuation', 'escalated', 'declining', and 'dramatically'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'became a most popular destination' (should be 'the most popular') and 'in initial year' (should be 'in the initial year'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but the lack of precision and the repetitive nature of the reporting limit the score. The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'And the information measured in thousands namely' (missing punctuation and awkward phrasing), 'then those sharply' (incorrect usage of 'those'), and 'reached at approximately' (unnecessary preposition). Punctuation is also inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction is high, which impacts the overall readability of the response.

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

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