Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-15
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 presented table provides the information about five different small companies that experienced top position in a survey of staff conducted by a national newspaper, comparing which companies are best for work to do across multiple job positions including staff numbers, male and female and others.
overall , it is evident that the company that got the top position has lowest number of staff as compared to other positions. In contrast the comapny that achieved the 5th position has the highest staff members with highest percentages of people under 35 years.
According to the given table, top company has very less number of staff containing only 56 members with 77% of young people under 35 age and zero ratio of over 55 age, 30% male and remaining 70% female with less turnover of 5% and has average high income bracket as comapred to other companies.Another notable feature is that third ranked company has the highest salary for employees.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The candidate has attempted to summarise the main features of the table regarding the five small companies. An overview is present, highlighting the contrast between the 1st and 5th position companies in terms of staff numbers and young employees. However, the selection of data is somewhat erratic and incomplete, omitting key categories like staff turnover or income brackets for several companies, while focusing heavily on listing granular details for the 1st position company. Furthermore, the phrasing 'best for work to do' in the introduction shows minor lexical inaccuracy when framing the visual data. Overall, the response addresses the prompt partially, lacking a fully comprehensive overview of all significant trends, which aligns it with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into three brief paragraphs, attempting a rudimentary logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and a body detail section. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped, and the transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt. Cohesive devices are minimal and occasionally repetitive or mechanical, such as 'According to the given table' and 'Another notable feature'. While the overarching message can be followed, referencing and paragraph cohesion require better management to achieve a higher band score, placing this response comfortably at a Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The lexical range is adequate to convey basic information from the table, utilizing terms such as 'survey', 'turnover', 'proportion', and 'income bracket'. However, there are noticeable vocabulary and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'experienced top position' instead of 'achieved the top position', 'best for work to do', and spelling slips like 'comapny'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision. Vocabulary usage is sufficient for communication but constrained by repetition and awkward phrasing, reflecting a Band 5.5 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The candidate demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at relative clauses and comparative structures, such as 'the company that got the top position has lowest number of staff as compared to other positions.' Grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text, including missing articles ('has lowest number'), preposition errors ('under 35 age' instead of 'under the age of 35'), and agreement issues. These errors do not entirely impede communication, but their frequency prevents the response from reaching Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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