Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-21

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 6.5)

The table displays the top five small-scale companies in Britain where a person should opt to work in.

Overall, the first position was alloted to a company comprised of 56 staff members only and the fifth position was given to a relatively larger company which had 190 staff members. The middle three positions were given to moderate size companies.

The first position holder company had a male:female ratio of 30% and 70 % respectively, and no individual over the age 55 years. With a staff turnover of 5%, 34% of the individuals came under the bracket of high income takers. On the other hand, the last positon holder had a ratio of almost 50% of male and female workers, with only 2% of them receiving high salaries. It also had the highest staff turnover of 33% among all five companies. Both companies had younger people employed and no one crossing the age of 55.

In the remaining 3 positions, only the company coming in second had a balance ratio of both genders, 47:53% respectively, whereas, the remaining two had 74:26% and 13:87%. The fourth company had the highest percentage of older employees, with a staff turnover of 13% and only 5% in the category of high salary receivers. While the third company had the highest percentage (74%) of high salary workers. It is the highest among all five companies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all key features of the data, including staff numbers, gender ratios, age demographics, turnover, and salary brackets. You successfully identify the main trends, such as the inverse relationship between company size and ranking, and highlight the standout figures like the third company's high salary percentage. To reach a higher band, ensure that comparisons are more integrated rather than listing data points sequentially. For instance, instead of describing the first and last companies in separate paragraphs, you could contrast them directly to better highlight the 'main features' as requested by the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group information by company characteristics. Cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'In the remaining 3 positions', and 'whereas' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is clear throughout the response. The use of referencing is generally accurate, though some sentences feel slightly disjointed due to the heavy focus on listing statistics.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'high income takers', 'staff turnover', and 'bracket' are used appropriately in context. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'alloted' (spelling: allotted) and 'balance ratio' (should be 'balanced ratio'). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, it lacks the sophistication or 'less common' items that would elevate the score to an 8.0. The word choice is functional and precise enough to avoid any confusion regarding the data presented.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'no individual over the age 55 years' (missing 'of') and 'no one crossing the age of 55' (slightly awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally handled well, though there are minor issues with spacing around percentage signs (e.g., '70 %'). The majority of your sentences are error-free, and the errors present do not impede communication. To improve, try to vary your sentence beginnings and use more complex subordinating conjunctions to link your data points.

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

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