Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-19

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 7.5)

The table provides information about the five best small companies to work for in Britain, based on a survey of staff conducted by a national newspaper.

Overall, the five companies differed considerably in terms of staff numbers, gender ratio, age distribution, staff turnover and the proportion of employees in the high-income bracket. The first-ranked company had the lowest staff turnover, while the fifth-ranked company had the highest. The third-ranked company had the largest proportion of staff in the high-income bracket.

Regarding staff characteristics, the number of employees ranged from 56 in the first-ranked company to 190 in the fifth. The proportion of male employees was highest in the third company, at 74%, whereas females accounted for 87% of staff in the fourth company. In addition, the majority of employees in the first, second, third and fifth companies were under 35, at 77%, 59%, 82% and 93%, respectively.

Turning to staff turnover and income, the fifth company recorded the highest turnover, at 33%, followed by the second at 18%. In contrast, the first and third companies had lower figures of 5% and 8%, respectively. The third company had the highest proportion of staff in the high-income bracket, at 74%, followed by the second and first companies, at 48% and 34%. The figures were considerably lower for the fourth and fifth companies, at 5% and 2%, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The student has successfully covered all main features of the table, selecting key data points such as staff numbers, gender ratios, age distributions, staff turnover, and high-income bracket percentages. An effective overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the overall variation among the five companies. Key comparisons are made accurately throughout the response, such as contrasting the staff turnover of the first company (5%) with the fifth company (33%). All cited data aligns correctly with the visual source, demonstrating a clear and thorough understanding of the task requirements without any unnecessary details.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. Ideas are grouped coherently into introduction, overview, staff characteristics, and staff turnover/income paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Regarding', 'In addition', 'Turning to', and 'In contrast' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes of the table. Referencing is clear and natural, contributing to a smooth reading experience throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

The student demonstrates a wide and appropriate range of vocabulary suitable for describing statistical data. Phrases such as 'differed considerably', 'proportion of staff', 'gender ratio', and 'age distribution' show good control of topic-specific language. Less common lexical items are used accurately, and collocations such as 'high-income bracket' and 'staff turnover' are handled well. Word choices and spelling are accurate throughout, reflecting a strong command of lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response employs a wide variety of complex sentence structures with a high degree of accuracy. The majority of sentences are error-free, and subordinate clauses are integrated smoothly, as seen in structures like 'while the fifth-ranked company had the highest' and 'whereas females accounted for 87% of staff'. Punctuation is used correctly to manage lists and introductory phrases. Only rare, minor syntactic slips could be found, placing the response firmly at the Band 8 level.

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