Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table illustrate a survey counducted in Britain by a Britain newspaper giving information about five small companies that are best to work for. Units are mentioned in percentages.

Overall, the 3rd company was the best to pay its staff a high income and the ratio of workers were mostly under 35 while 5 company paid its staff the least while the company with the most male is the 3rd one with 4 having the least.

Comparing the staff numbers, male:female, staff under 35s or 55s of all the 5 companies the 5 company had the most staff while 1 had the least on the other hand, male female ratio 3 company had the most males 4th had the most females in contrast age of employee under 35s 5 company had the most while 4th the least.

Taking in account the turnover staff and the staff income 5th company had the most turnover over the time while 3rd had the the least moreover, the staff income of the 3rd company was the highest and the 5th company had the lowest of all.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the main features of the table, such as the highest and lowest values for staff numbers, ratios, ages, turnover, and income. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in the reporting of the data. For instance, the student states that the 5th company paid its staff the least and had the lowest income of all, whereas the table shows that the 5th company actually had only 2% of staff in the high income bracket, while the 4th company had 5% (making the 4th the lowest for high income, or the 5th the second lowest depending on interpretation, but the phrasing is confused). Furthermore, the overview is weak and lacks precision. Overall, the response addresses the prompt partially, struggling with accurate data extraction and comparative synthesis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The text is organized into four paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, logical progression is severely hindered by poor sentence construction, lack of punctuation, and run-on sentences. For example, the entire second paragraph is a single lengthy sentence strung together with commas: 'Overall, the 3rd company was the best to pay its staff a high income and the ratio of workers were mostly under 35 while 5 company paid its staff the least while the company with the most male is the 3rd one with 4 having the least.' Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive ('while', 'on the other hand', 'moreover'), and often misused, leading to a confusing flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive ('most', 'least', 'staff', 'company'). There are noticeable spelling and word formation errors, such as 'counducted' instead of 'conducted', and awkward phrasing like 'best to pay its staff a high income'. The range of vocabulary is limited and barely adequate for the task. Less common lexical items are either absent or used inaccurately, causing occasional strain for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most attempts at complex sentences result in severe structural errors, run-on sentences, and complete omissions of necessary punctuation. There are persistent agreement and tense errors, such as 'The table illustrate' instead of 'illustrates', 'the ratio of workers were' instead of 'was', and missing articles ('5 company' instead of 'the 5th company'). Grammatical inaccuracies are frequent and impede the clarity of communication throughout the text.

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