Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-31

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 given table shows information of five small companies in Britain that come in survey of staff conducted by national newspaper to identify which companies are the best to work for .

Company 5 has the largest number of employes and the highest staff turnover and company 1 has smallest turnover .

yhe first racked company has the lowest staff turnover while the fifth ranked has the largest workforce the companies also differ considerably in terms of gander balance and income levels .

the first company employs 56 staff with a male to female ratio of 30:70 . it has a relatively low staff turn over . the second company has 79 employes with equal gender split of 47:53 . Third company has 72 staff members with ratio of 74:26 . the fourth company has lowest propotion of high income staff . At the end fifth company is largest employing with 190 people and has heavily male dominated .

In conclusion the fifth company has the highest staff turnover and the first company shows lowest staff turnover .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the table, including staff numbers, turnover, and gender ratios. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you identify the largest and smallest companies, the comparisons are often disjointed. For instance, you mention the gender ratio for the first company but do not effectively contrast it with the others in a cohesive way. To improve, ensure you group data logically—perhaps by comparing the largest/smallest workforce alongside the turnover rates—rather than listing facts company by company. The overview is present but lacks a clear synthesis of the most significant trends across the five companies.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the internal structure is weak. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link ideas; for example, the transition between sentences is often abrupt, relying on simple subject-verb structures. The use of 'yhe' (typo) and the lack of proper capitalization at the start of sentences hinder the flow. While there is a logical progression from general information to specific details, the lack of linking words (e.g., 'conversely', 'in contrast', 'furthermore') makes the text feel like a list of bullet points rather than a cohesive report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You use 'company' and 'staff' frequently without variation. There are also several spelling errors, such as 'employes' instead of 'employees', 'gander' instead of 'gender', and 'propotion' instead of 'proportion'. These errors are noticeable and detract from the professional tone required for an Academic Task 1 report. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise terminology, such as 'workforce', 'personnel', 'fluctuation', or 'gender distribution', and ensure accurate spelling throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('a national newspaper'), incorrect verb forms ('come in survey'), and punctuation issues (e.g., spaces before periods). The lack of capitalization at the beginning of sentences is a recurring issue that affects readability. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors is high, and there is very little evidence of complex sentence structures. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and prepositions.

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