Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-30

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 illustrates information about the five Britain's small companies that became top five in survey of staff carried out by a national newspaper to know which companies are the best to serve for.

Overall, the staff numbers in all top fiver companies are below 100 while only the top 5th have more than hundred. The company holding first position have the highest female ratio while the 4th one have the lowest male ratio. Similarly, the companies consist of a very small number of aged staff while some have none of such age. All the companies have a small percentage of turn over only the 5th one has the highest among other four companies. Likewise the 5th one has the lowest percentage of high income staff while the 3rd holds the highest percentage.

The company holding 1st position has only 56 staff members as compare to the 5th one which have 190 staff members. Other companies have 70+ members. The company having lowest ratio of female as compared to male is the 3rd one which is 74:26. The company holding highest female ratio is the 1st one which is 30:70. The 4th one has the lowest ratio of male which is 13:87. In terms of age, all the companies have lowest number of people of over 55 years of age. only the 4th company has only 8% of over 55s staff members.

on the other hand, the 5th company holding 33% percentage of staff turnover which is the highest as compared to other 4 companies. The company holding highest percentage of high income staff if the 3rd position holding having 74% of high oncome members as compared to the 5th position holding consisting of only 2% high income staff.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the table, including staff numbers, gender ratios, age distribution, turnover, and income levels. However, the analysis is inconsistent and contains factual inaccuracies. For instance, the overview states that only the 5th company has more than 100 staff, yet the data shows other companies also have significant numbers. Furthermore, the comparison of gender ratios is confusingly phrased (e.g., 'the 4th one have the lowest male ratio' is unclear when compared to the data). While the response attempts to highlight key trends, the lack of precision in reporting the figures and the contradictory statements in the overview prevent it from reaching a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow is hampered by repetitive phrasing and awkward transitions. The use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'Similarly' and 'Likewise', which do not always logically connect the preceding and following ideas. The referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to track which company is being discussed. While there is an attempt at paragraphing, the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks a clear progression, often jumping between different data points without a cohesive narrative thread.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'best to serve for' instead of 'best to work for', and 'aged staff' instead of 'older employees'. The repetition of phrases like 'the company holding' and 'the 5th one' makes the writing feel monotonous. Additionally, there are minor errors in word formation, such as 'oncome' instead of 'income'. The range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic meaning but lacks the flexibility and sophistication expected at higher levels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical errors are frequent and occasionally impede clarity. Subject-verb agreement is a recurring issue, such as 'the company... have' and 'the 5th one have'. There are also errors in preposition usage and article placement (e.g., 'in survey of staff'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors, combined with awkward phrasing, limits the score. The writer attempts to use comparative structures, but these are often clunky or grammatically incorrect, such as 'as compare to'.

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