Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-18

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 5.5)

The table provides information about the staff survey conducted by a national newspaper in Britain between five small companies in order to find best company to work for.

Overall, there are five different positions in survey including staff numbers, male-female ratio, under 35s/under 55s, staff turnover and staff in high income bracket .The 5th company has the highest number of staff and most companies have the young individuals as their staff, whereas staff turnover and high salaries varied in proportion among companies.

Regarding the size and gender ratio of companies 5th has 100 staff members while others range from 56 to 79. the male female ratio varies company to company with 1st company at around 30;70 and 5th company at 51;49. , while others have a huge difference.

Turning to age of the staff there are more young people and none old ones. In contrast the staff turnover of 1st company is 5% with 34% high income .and their is highest proportion of staff leaving in 5 th company at around 33% with salary around 25 which is the lowest among others, whereas 2nd, 3rd and 4th has 185,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the table, such as staff numbers and age demographics. However, the analysis is inconsistent. The report fails to accurately interpret the data for all companies, particularly in the final paragraph where the sentence 'whereas 2nd, 3rd and 4th has 185' is incomplete and factually confusing. While you identified the highest and lowest figures, the comparison is hindered by the lack of clarity in the data presentation. To improve, ensure all data points are clearly linked to their respective companies and avoid leaving sentences unfinished, as this prevents a full overview of the information provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'In contrast the staff turnover of 1st company is 5%' does not logically follow the previous point about age. Additionally, the punctuation is frequently incorrect, such as the use of semicolons in '30;70' and '51;49', and the placement of periods mid-sentence. These errors disrupt the flow of information and make the progression of ideas feel disjointed rather than smooth.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. You use basic terms like 'young individuals' and 'huge difference' which are somewhat repetitive. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'none old ones' instead of 'no older staff' and 'varied in proportion' which is used incorrectly in context. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise comparative language and ensuring that technical terms related to data (e.g., 'proportion', 'turnover', 'bracket') are used accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. Frequent errors in punctuation, such as the misuse of periods and semicolons, hinder readability. Subject-verb agreement is also problematic, as seen in 'others have a huge difference' and '2nd, 3rd and 4th has'. Furthermore, the final sentence is grammatically incomplete, which significantly impacts the overall clarity. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction and proofreading for punctuation errors, as these frequent slips prevent the writing from reaching a higher level of grammatical control.

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