Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-12

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 7.0)

The table displays data of the five small companies in Britain that ranked highest in a survey of staff conducted by a national newspaper to find out which firms are the best to work for.

Overall, the survey ranked the top five companies based on five key factors which are number of staff, male and female ratio, age group ratio, staff turnover rate, and percentage of staff in high income earner bracket. While there is no similar trend among the top fice companies, however, all of them had majorly young adults under the age of 35 in their workplace.

The company that ranked first had the lowest number of staff among the five with 56 employees and the highest population was 190 employees in the fifth ranked company. The most balanced ratio of male and female was in the company ranking second and fifth with, 47:53 and 51:49 respectively.

The businesses that ranked first, third, and fifth had zero employee over the age of 55. The highest turnover rate was recorded for the fifth ranked company at 33% , followed by 18% for second ranked, and the lowest was 5% for the first ranked company. Lastly, the third ranked company had 74% employees falling under high income bracket.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all main features of the table, including staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, age distributions, turnover rates, and high-income percentages. The student accurately highlights key points, such as the highest and lowest employee counts and the prominence of young adults across all five companies. Comparisons are made effectively between different ranks, such as contrasting the turnover rates of the first and fifth ranked firms. However, there is a slight over-generalization and minor mechanical error in stating that there is 'no similar trend' when some commonalities exist, and a spelling typo ('fice'). Overall, the task is well addressed, satisfying the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organised, beginning with a clear introductory paraphrase, followed by an overview paragraph, and subsequent body paragraphs that methodically break down the data categories. Cohesive devices such as 'While', 'followed by', and 'Lastly' are used to connect ideas smoothly. Paragraphing is handled appropriately, ensuring that each distinct aspect of the table receives its own dedicated space. While the phrasing 'While there is no similar trend among the top fice companies, however, all of them had...' exhibits a minor redundancy by pairing 'while' and 'however', the overall logical progression and referencing remain clear throughout. This corresponds to a Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic report, incorporating terms like 'turnover rate', 'population', 'proportion', and 'high income bracket'. Less common vocabulary items are attempted with some awareness of collocation, such as 'staff turnover rate' and 'age group ratio'. However, there are occasional lexical inaccuracies and typographical errors, such as 'fice' instead of 'five' and 'high income earner bracket' which lacks an article. Word choice is generally functional and conveys the statistical information clearly, placing this response firmly at Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses ('While there is no similar trend...'). There are several error-free sentences, demonstrating good overall control of grammar. However, a few grammatical slips and awkward phrasings occur, such as 'displays data of the five' (instead of 'displays data for the five') and subject-verb agreement issues like 'the highest population was 190 employees' where 'number' would be more precise. Punctuation is generally sound, though a stray comma appears before 'respectively'. These minor inaccuracies do not impede communication, supporting a Band 6.5.

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