Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-19

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)

This table have the information about the five best small companies to work for. During the survey the position of companies were very good.

The first company have the lowest ratio of staff numbers 56 and the fifth company have the highest staff numbers which are 190.

The ratio of male and female were very interested. Number second company have the 47 percent ratio of male and 53 percent ratio of females. Number third company hurt a lot because the ratio of male members was 74 and the ratio of female members was just 26.

The third thing is very interesting, because in it, their is a compression of age difference. The most interesting thing is that every company have the majority of under 35s age employees.

Now the comparison is about staff turnover, the lowest ratio of number one company which is just 5 percent, and highest ratio is in number 5 company with 33 percent.

The most important thing is at the last, which is about staff in high income bracket. Number 3 company is on the top with 74 percent and number 5 company is at the end with just 2 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the table, such as staff numbers, gender ratios, age, turnover, and income. However, the analysis is superficial and lacks a clear overview or summary of the data. The report reads more like a list of individual data points rather than a cohesive summary. For example, stating 'Number second company have the 47 percent ratio' is a simple description rather than a comparison. To improve, you should group the data more effectively and highlight the most significant trends or contrasts across the five companies rather than describing each one in isolation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The use of cohesive devices is very limited and often repetitive (e.g., 'The first company', 'Number second company', 'The third thing'). There is a lack of linking words to connect ideas or show relationships between the data points. The transition between paragraphs is abrupt, and the referencing is sometimes unclear, making the text feel like a series of disconnected sentences rather than a fluid report. Using a wider range of cohesive devices like 'In contrast', 'Conversely', or 'Furthermore' would improve the flow significantly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive. You frequently use the word 'ratio' where 'percentage' or 'proportion' would be more accurate. There are also some awkward word choices, such as 'hurt a lot' to describe a gender imbalance, which is inappropriate for an academic report. The range of vocabulary is limited to the information provided in the table, with little attempt to use synonyms or more sophisticated descriptive language. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise terminology for data reporting and avoid informal or emotive language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Subject-verb agreement is a major issue, such as 'This table have' instead of 'has', and 'every company have' instead of 'has'. There are also errors with articles ('the number second company') and prepositions ('at the last'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and there is a lack of complex sentence forms. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of basic errors in subject-verb agreement and pluralisation prevents the response from reaching a higher band.

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