Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-04

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 displays data of a survey of the employees of top five small businesses in Britain, done by a national newspaper agency showing which is the best workplace.

Overall, the top company has the least change of staff and considerable figure of the staff that is highly paid in contrast, the fifth business in the list has the highest staff turnover and lowest number of people getting higher salaries though it has the highest number of workers most of them under 35 years of age.

The company on top of the list has the least number of staff of 56 compared to the other business with male and female proportion opf 30 and 70 respectively. The staff is change is the least noted in this business at 5 % only compared to the highest turnover in the company at the bottom of the list with 33%

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. While you have identified some key features, such as the staff turnover rates and salary comparisons, the analysis is incomplete. You have not provided a comprehensive overview of the data for all five companies, leaving out significant details regarding the middle-ranked businesses. To improve, ensure you cover all categories presented in the table and provide a more balanced summary that highlights the most striking differences and similarities across the entire dataset rather than focusing only on the top and bottom entries.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is somewhat disjointed. While you use some cohesive devices like 'in contrast' and 'compared to', the transition between the overview and the body paragraph is abrupt. The paragraphing is insufficient, as the second paragraph is quite dense and attempts to cover too much information without clear sub-grouping. To improve, use more varied linking words to connect your ideas and ensure each paragraph has a clear focus, perhaps by grouping companies with similar characteristics together to create a more coherent narrative.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You use basic phrasing such as 'least change of staff' and 'considerable figure of the staff'. There are also some awkward collocations and minor errors, such as 'staff is change' and 'opf' (a typo). To reach a higher band, aim to use more sophisticated terminology related to data description, such as 'staff retention', 'turnover rate', or 'proportion of employees', and ensure your spelling is accurate throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'The staff is change is the least noted' is grammatically incorrect, and 'data of a survey' should be 'data from a survey'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly regarding the placement of commas. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Practicing the construction of complex sentences will help you demonstrate a wider range of grammatical control while reducing the frequency of these errors.

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