Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-16
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 provided table illustrates the five small companies in Britain that investigated in a survey of staff released by a national newspaper to figure out which companies are most popular to work for. Within 5 different position in survey, participants were able to estimate the atmosphere of company based on certain information.
Overall, there was a significant increase in the number of employees between five companies particulary in staff numbers. The number of staff of five company made up the largest number at 190, while the first company recorded to just 56 numbers. The second company accouned for quite largest number at 79, followed by fourth company with 76 and third company with 72. Regarding male and female ratio, fifth company showed most equal number of opposite genders, whereas fourth company resulted much higher proportion of female compared to male. The second company also constituted for almost equal number of genders at 47:53. In terms of staff turnover rate, fifth company recorded most highest rate of turnover at 33%, while first company only showed a negligible rate with 5% and second company with 18%, followed by fourth company with 13%. Regard the remaining positions, the figures for second company and third company both reaching 74% and 48%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover the main features of the table, noting staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, and turnover rates across the five companies. However, there are notable inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the statement 'the number of staff of five company made up the largest number at 190, while the first company recorded to just 56 numbers' is somewhat confused in phrasing, and the final sentence misattributes data ('figures for second company and third company both reaching 74% and 48%'). While an overview is attempted, the support is occasionally imprecise or awkwardly stated, pushing this response into the Band 5 to 6 range.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organised into an introduction and a single body paragraph, though paragraphing is underdeveloped since there is no clear separation of distinct categories or features. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Regarding', and 'In terms of' are used to guide the reader through the data, but referencing is sometimes unclear, as seen in phrases like 'the number of staff of five company' and confusing comparative links in the final sentence. Logical progression is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions and imprecise grouping of data points.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for describing statistical data, including terms like 'ratio', 'turnover rate', and 'proportion'. However, there are frequent word choice and collocation errors, such as 'that investigated in a survey' instead of 'investigated in a survey', '56 numbers' instead of '56 employees', and 'most highest rate' which represents a double superlative. Less common lexical items are attempted but often marred by morphological or collocational inaccuracies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense and voice issues ('that investigated in a survey', 'company recorded to just 56'), missing articles ('fourth company', 'fifth company'), and faulty comparative/superlative constructions ('most highest rate'). While these errors do not completely obscure the intended meaning, they occur frequently enough to impact readability.
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