Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-18

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 supplied table describes report of five tiny organizations in britain that approached to peak in an analysis controled by national newspaper to search which organizations are good to work for.

As an overall trend, in fifth company staff numbers were greater than others moreover, staff in high income bracket ratio was less than the others.

By thwe glance on table, staff numbers in 1st organization was 56, in 2nd, was 79, in 3rd, was 72, in 4th was 76 and in last in 5th, was 190. After that the male and female ratio in 1st company was 30:70 , in 2nd, there were 47 males and 53 females, in next organizartion ratio was 74 male and 26 female moreover, in next there were 13 male and 87 females, in the other the ratio of male and female was almost same of 51 :49.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The student attempts to summarise the table, identifying some main features such as the staff numbers in the fifth company. However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count of 150 words, stopping at 144 words, which incurs a penalty. The overview provided is very basic and lacks a comprehensive comparison across all categories (such as age distribution and staff turnover). Furthermore, the data reporting is somewhat mechanical and lists individual numbers without effectively grouping them or highlighting the most significant trends. To improve, the writer should ensure all key features are covered, provide a clearer overall trend, and write at least the minimum required word count.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is structured into an introduction, an overview sentence, and a body paragraph. However, the paragraphing is poorly developed, with the main body squashed into a single, overly dense block of text containing list-like data. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, such as 'moreover' and 'in the other', leading to a mechanical progression. Reference pronouns are occasionally unclear, and the overall organization lacks smooth logical flow between ideas. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to use paragraphs more effectively to group related data points and employ a wider, more natural range of cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with numerous awkward collocations and phrasing errors, such as 'describes report of five tiny organizations' and 'approached to peak'. Words are frequently misused, such as 'controled' instead of 'conducted' or 'surveyed'. There are also spelling errors like 'thwe'. The range of vocabulary is severely limited and insufficient to discuss academic data with precision. To improve, the student should learn appropriate academic vocabulary for describing statistical data and tables, replacing everyday or mistranslated terms with precise lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple clauses and repetitive listing structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('in fifth company', 'by thwe glance on table'), incorrect prepositions, and awkward sentence construction ('staff in high income bracket ratio was less than the others'). Punctuation is also faulty in places, such as spacing before punctuation marks. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a weak control of basic sentence patterns. Complex structures are attempted but are generally flawed.

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