Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-07

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 provided table presents survey data from the United Kingdom on employee satisfaction with five midcap companies that are worth working for.

As an overview, the difference in number of employees working for the fifth company is more than that of combining the second and third most in the same parameter. Moreover, the male-female ratio is almost totally opposite between the first and third company whereas, the second and the last organization possessed nearly equal ratio in terms of male and. female. However, the third company has 74:26 proportion respectively.

At a cursory glance, the statistics for all the companies prefer the youths under 35 as compared to closely none to individual's over 55. Additionally, the working professional in a high income tax bracket is nearly three quarters in the third company whilst, 34 and 48 percent as that of first and third organization and nominal to later two companies. The increase in the proportion of staff turnover is been in an order of first , third, second , fourth and fifth respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the table, but the presentation of data is often confusing and lacks precision. For example, the overview mentions the 'fifth company' and 'second and third' without clearly identifying them by name, which makes the summary difficult to follow. Furthermore, the description of the high-income tax bracket data is garbled, stating '34 and 48 percent as that of first and third organization', which does not accurately reflect the table's content. While the response attempts to make comparisons, the lack of clarity in reporting the figures prevents it from fully addressing the task requirements. More careful selection and clearer presentation of the key data points are needed to achieve a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow is frequently interrupted by unclear referencing and awkward phrasing. For instance, the phrase 'in the same parameter' is vague, and the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is mechanical. The use of cohesive devices like 'moreover' and 'at a cursory glance' is present, but they do not always connect the ideas effectively. The referencing is often ambiguous, making it hard for the reader to track which company is being discussed. Improving the logical progression and ensuring that each sentence clearly relates to the previous one would significantly enhance the coherence of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is somewhat limited and occasionally inaccurate. Phrases such as 'midcap companies that are worth working for' and 'closely none to individual's over 55' are unnatural and imprecise. There are also issues with word choice, such as using 'proportion' when referring to percentages or specific counts. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific language, the errors in collocation and phrasing sometimes impede the reader's understanding. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise terminology for data reporting and ensuring that word choices are appropriate for an academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that affect clarity. Examples include 'the male-female ratio is almost totally opposite between the first and third company whereas, the second and the last organization possessed nearly equal ratio', where the punctuation and article usage are incorrect. Additionally, 'The increase in the proportion of staff turnover is been in an order of' is grammatically incorrect. While the meaning is generally discernible, the high frequency of errors in sentence construction and verb tense usage limits the score. More attention to basic grammatical accuracy and sentence structure is required.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.