Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-20

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 table illustrates the about the five small companies in UK that came top in a survey of staff initiated by a national newspaper to find out which corporations are the good to work for.

Overall, Fifth company had more staff members and first company had less staff workers, and most male workers work in third company while highest female workers work in fourth company. However more staff turnover at fifth company and lowest staff turnover at first company.

In first company had only 56 staff members and second quite high likely 79 alo third and fourth staff members are 72 and 76, meanwhile company fifth had slightly high around 190.

Males and females are in 1st company around 30 and 70 and in 4th company had 13 male workers and 87 female workers in 5th company had no female workers.

Over 55 years age people work only 1% in 2nd company and 8% in 4th company and no workers found in another three companies around 55 years age people, staff high income bracket only 2% in 5th company and quite high compare to 5th in 4th also 1st and 2nd compamies are medium in income , althrough 3rd company had huge income around 74%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The student attempts to cover several main features of the table, such as staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, age distributions, staff turnover, and income brackets. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, the student states that 'in 5th company had no female workers', whereas the table clearly shows a 51:49 male-to-female ratio. Furthermore, the overview is rather rudimentary, noting isolated points rather than synthesising overarching trends. While the prompt is partially addressed, the misinterpretation of data and limited development place this in the lower bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression and overall coherence are weak. The introductory sentence contains grammatical errors ('illustrates the about...'), and transitions between sentences are frequently abrupt or mechanical ('althrough 3rd company...'). Referencing is also problematic, with pronouns and comparative links failing to connect ideas smoothly. While the text is structured into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief overview attempt, the lack of clear cohesive devices and poor organisational flow significantly hinder readability.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The vocabulary is limited and repetitive, relying on basic terms such as 'company', 'staff', 'workers', and 'people'. There are frequent inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as 'good to work for' instead of 'best companies to work for', and 'highest female workers work in fourth company' instead of 'proportion of female staff'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the overall lexical range lacks the precision and flexibility required for Academic Task 1, restricting the score to this band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response features a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and clumsy compound clauses. There are frequent, intrusive grammatical errors throughout the text, such as missing verbs ('In first company had only 56...'), incorrect prepositions ('in UK' instead of 'in the UK'), and faulty subject-verb agreement. Complex structures are attempted but are generally ungrammatical or awkwardly phrased ('while highest female workers work in fourth company'). These errors frequently cause strain for the reader.

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