Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-03

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 chart illustrates the information regarding five different companies in Britain which compares the companies by doing survey by a national newspaper to know about best companies.

To begin with, the company which is in first rank has less employees (56). This number is inclined for 2nd rank company (79), and 5th rank company 190 workers. However, This number for third and forth rank company is 72 and 76. In the case male and female ration , The highest number of females work in first , second, and forth which is 70, 53,and 87 respectively. Despite of this , this number is 30, 47, and 13 for males. By contrast, The lowest number of woman work in 3rd 26 and 5th companies 49, while this figure for man is highest that is 74 and 51.

The percentage for 35 year old employees are more in all companies, however, only 1% and 8% of 55 year old worker work in 2nd and 4th .

The staff turnover is 5% for first which is incline upto 33% in 5th company expect for 3rd and 4th shows steady decline. The high incomes worker percentage is maximum in 3rd 74% and lowest un 4th and 5th which is under 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying key data points from the table. However, the reporting is somewhat mechanical, listing figures without sufficient synthesis or meaningful comparison. For instance, while you mention the number of employees and gender ratios, the analysis lacks a clear overview of the trends. The description of the data is occasionally confusing, such as the sentence regarding the 35-year-old employees, which lacks specific data points from the table to support the claim. To improve, focus on grouping the data into logical categories and highlighting the most significant differences or similarities between the companies rather than just listing the numbers.

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 often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'Despite of this' (should be 'Despite this' or 'In spite of this') and 'By contrast' are used, but the logical flow between sentences is sometimes disjointed. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when discussing the gender ratios, where the connection between the numbers and the companies becomes difficult to track. Improving the use of transition signals and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'number' and 'rank' repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'inclined for' instead of 'increases to' or 'higher for', and 'man' instead of 'males'. The use of 'woman' (singular) instead of 'women' (plural) is a recurring error. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied vocabulary related to data trends, such as 'proportion', 'majority', 'minority', and 'fluctuated', while ensuring correct pluralisation and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but grammatical errors are frequent and occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The percentage... are more'), incorrect preposition use, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'The high incomes worker percentage'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas and periods. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent sentence structure will help improve your accuracy.

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

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