Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-23

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 compares five British companies in a survey conducted by a national newspaper to determine the best company among them.

Overall, the companies in the survey had been compared in five categories. The numbers of the staff and male female ratio are among them. Moreover they were compared in staff turnover and staff in high income bracket.

Firstly, The company that stood highest in staff number have 190 staff on the other hand the first company had only 56 staff which was the lowest among all. Furthermore, the most discrimination in male female ratio is inside the first company whereas the 2nd and 5th company had almost an equal number of male and female working in the company. The worst case in male female quantity is in the 3rd company which had 74 male against the 26 female.

Secondly, Most of the companies prefer people under 35 and at the same time had near zero people over 55s. Company which have the most percentage of young people working is the 5th company which is over 90%. The only companies come close are 1st and 3rd one with 77% and 82%. The least percentage of young people to be found in the 4th company which had only 26% of people under 35s.

In case of staff turnover the most standout company is the 5th one. Which holds a turnover over 30%, in contrast the 1st company has the worst turnover of 5%. The rests are also below 20%. Now comes the catagory of staff in high income bracket where 3rd company pays some of it's staff the highest. In this matter the 5th company didn't stand a chance. Rest of the companies aren't near 50%. Among them the 4th company 4% of people only come in the high income bracket.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying key features of the five companies. However, the analysis is somewhat inconsistent. While you successfully highlight the staff numbers and age demographics, the comparison of the male-female ratio is confusingly phrased, particularly the claim about 'most discrimination' in the first company. Additionally, the description of the high-income bracket data is slightly muddled, as the comparison between companies is not always clear or accurate based on the data provided. To improve, ensure that your comparisons are precise and that you clearly group data points to highlight the most significant trends rather than listing them company by company.

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 sometimes mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'Now comes the catagory' is informal and awkward. There are also issues with referencing; in the second paragraph, you refer to '1st and 3rd one' without clearly linking them back to the specific company names or identifiers. While the progression of ideas is generally logical, the flow between sentences could be smoother, and the use of linking words needs to be more varied and natural to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'staff turnover' and 'high income bracket'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'most discrimination' to describe a gender ratio, and 'the rests are also below' instead of 'the rest are'. Some phrasing is repetitive, and there is a lack of more sophisticated or academic vocabulary that would elevate the response. Focusing on collocations and more precise terminology for data reporting will help improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The company that stood highest... have 190 staff'), incorrect article usage, and punctuation errors, such as starting sentences with fragments (e.g., 'Which holds a turnover over 30%'). While the meaning is generally understandable, these recurring errors indicate a lack of control over complex structures. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your sentences are complete and correctly punctuated.

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