Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-22

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)

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 is illustrated by the tabular representation.

Overall, it is crystal clear that the position in survey for under thirtees and fiftees was highest as compared to other companies.

Having a quick glance, it is vivid that the ratio of under 35s and over 55s was highest with 77% in first position, 82% in third and 93% in 5th position. Which was followed by staff numbers who was 96 in 1st and 190 in 5th. The position in survey for male and female ratio was 47:53 in 2nd and 51:49 in 5th position respectively.

Moving towards, the rest of the information the staff in high income bracket was 34% in first position, 48% in second and 74% in third position. The least position in survey was staff turnover which was only 5% in 1st, 8% in second and 13% in 5th.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response identifies some key features, such as the percentages for age groups and staff numbers. However, the report is disorganized and fails to provide a clear, logical summary of the data. The comparisons are often confusing or inaccurate, such as referring to 'position in survey' when the table lists company names. The overview is weak and does not effectively highlight the most significant trends across the five companies. Several data points are presented in isolation without meaningful synthesis, making it difficult for the reader to grasp the overall picture of the survey results.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression is lacking. The use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or misused, such as 'Moving towards, the rest of the information'. Referencing is frequently unclear; for example, the phrase 'the position in survey for under thirtees and fiftees' is confusing because the table does not rank companies by age. The connection between sentences is often weak, and the flow of information feels disjointed, which hinders the overall readability of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive. There are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'tabular representation' and 'the ratio of under 35s and over 55s was highest with 77%'. The student struggles to use precise terminology to describe statistical data, often relying on vague descriptors. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the lack of variety and occasional misuse of terms like 'vivid' to describe data trends prevents the response from achieving a higher score in this category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('staff numbers who was') and awkward sentence construction ('The position in survey for male and female ratio was 47:53'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the errors in grammar are noticeable and occasionally cause the reader to pause. The control over complex structures is inconsistent, and the frequency of errors is high enough to impact the overall clarity of the writing.

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