Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-27

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 chart illustrate that, the five little companies in Britain which came leading in research of staff organised by national newspaper to identify which companies are the best to work for.

Overall, it is clear that the fifth company had by far the largest number of employees, while the first company had fewest. The third company had highest proportion of employees in high income bracket, whereas the fifth company had the lowest staff turnover,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, reaching only 74 words. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. While the student attempts to identify main features, such as the largest number of employees and the highest proportion of high-income staff, the analysis is severely underdeveloped due to the lack of length. The response does not provide a comprehensive overview or sufficient detail to satisfy the requirements of an Academic Task 1 report. To improve, the student must expand on the data provided in the table, ensuring all five companies are compared across the various categories (employees, high income, and staff turnover).

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is too short to demonstrate a full range of cohesive devices or effective paragraphing. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction and an overview, the lack of development makes it difficult to assess the logical progression of ideas. The use of linking words like 'Overall' and 'whereas' is appropriate, but the text lacks the structure necessary to achieve a higher band. To improve, the student should aim to group information logically—perhaps by category or by company—and use a wider variety of cohesive devices to connect sentences and paragraphs more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally accurate but limited in range. Phrases such as 'largest number of employees' and 'staff turnover' are appropriate for the task. However, there are some awkward phrasings, such as 'little companies' instead of 'small companies' and 'came leading' instead of 'ranked first' or 'topped the list'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey basic meaning, but it lacks the sophistication and variety required for higher bands. Expanding the range of descriptive language and ensuring precise collocations will help improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains several grammatical errors that hinder clarity. For instance, 'The chart illustrate that' should be 'The chart illustrates that', and 'the first company had fewest' requires the definite article 'the' before 'fewest'. Additionally, the opening sentence is a fragment rather than a complete sentence. While the student attempts some complex structures, the frequency of errors is high relative to the short length of the text. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement, the correct use of articles, and ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and verb.

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

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