Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-13

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 4.5)

The table is about five companies, the first company has Total 56 staff members which is comprises of male and female with ratio of 30:70 and in this c company has 77 % people are under 35 and 0 % over 55 age. Moreover staff turnout is 5% and 34 % staff paid with high income.

Second company has Total 79 number of the staff and from them 47:53 is the ratio of male and female. In this company 59 percent members are over 35 and 1 percent of over 55 age , staff turnout is 18 percent in this company and 48 percent staff members are received high salaries.

In third company Total staff is 72 and male and female ratio is 74:26 and 82 percent staff are under 35 and 0 percent over 55, staff turnout is 8 percent and 74 percent staff received high pay.

The fourth company is consist of 76 staff members from them male and female ratio is 13:87 and 26 percent staff members are under 35 and 8 percent staff members are over 55 , staff turnout is 13 percent and 5 percent staff members are paid with high income.

The fifth company has 190 members and from them male and female ratio is 51:49 and 93 percent staff members are under 35 and 0 percent staff members are over 55 and the turnout is 33 percent and 2 percent are highly paid.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to present and summarise the data from the table regarding the five small companies. However, the presentation lacks an overview, which is a key requirement for Task 1, and the information is reported mechanically company by company without making sufficient or meaningful comparisons. For instance, the student writes, 'The table is about five companies, the first company has Total 56 staff members...' and proceeds to list statistics for each firm in a repetitive manner. While the main data points such as staff numbers, gender ratios, age breakdowns, staff turnover, and high-income percentages are mentioned, the lack of an overarching summary and comparative analysis restricts the score to a Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The text suffers from significant structural and cohesive issues. Rather than organising the response into logical paragraphs with clear progression, the student packs almost all the information into a single massive, run-on paragraph, with the final company awkwardly split off. There are very few cohesive devices used beyond basic conjunctions like 'and' and 'Moreover', leading to a mechanical and listing style. Referencing is also weak, as seen in repetitive structures like 'In this company...'. Paragraphing is absent or inappropriate for an IELTS Academic Task 1 response, placing the coherence and cohesion firmly at a Band 4.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple terms like 'company', 'staff', 'members', 'ratio', and 'percentage'. There are several word choice and collocation issues, such as 'staff turnout' instead of 'staff turnover', 'staff paid with high income' instead of 'high-income earners', and awkward phrasing like 'is comprises of' and 'are received high salaries'. Less common lexical items are largely absent, and the repetitive phrasing heavily impacts the range. This falls under the Band 4.0 descriptors for basic and repetitive vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting almost entirely of long, run-on compound sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and'. There are frequent and basic grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the first company has Total 56 staff members which is comprises of...', 'the fourth company is consist of...'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'staff members are received high salaries'), and punctuation errors. These persistent errors, combined with a lack of complex structures used accurately, mean the response meets the criteria for Band 4.0.

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