Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-25

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 demonstrates information about the staff survey conducted by a local newspaper in five small British companies with the purpose of finding which companies are more suitable to work for.

The table presents five different positions of each factor considered for the survey, including staff numbers, male/female ratio, under 35s or over 55s, staff turn over and staff in high income brackets. The statistics given in the table exhibit clearly that companies with less staff numbers and lowest turnovers gets the first place. Whereas, the companies with less staff in high income brackets and more people under 35s comes last. While, the male/female ratio with greater difference comes in 4th.

For the staff numbers, and the staff in high income bracket the figures show that people prefer those companies more where less staff numbers work with the lowest number of 56 and income ranges are high with the highest figure of 34%. Furthermore, people do not prefer those companies with high percentage of staff turnover. In this regard, the companies with 33% gets the 5th position and companies with 5% gets the first position. The data for male/female ratio shows that 70% male and 30% female is the most appropriate ratio to get work in. Lastly, people with highest figure of 93% staff under 35s and 0% staff over 55s comes at the 5th position.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the main features of the table, covering areas such as staff numbers, staff turnover, and income brackets. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the interpretation of the data. For example, the student states that the male-to-female ratio with a greater difference comes in 4th, whereas the data for the 4th position shows 13:87 (an 74% difference), while the 3rd position shows 74:26 (a 48% difference). Furthermore, the interpretation of the survey results contains flawed generalisations, such as claiming that '70% male and 30% female is the most appropriate ratio to get work in' (which corresponds to the 1st position, but correlation does not equal a direct rule). While the overview mentions the general content, the lack of accurate data reporting pulls the score down to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and a body paragraph. However, the logical progression is weak, and sentences within the body paragraphs often feel disconnected. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as 'Whereas, the companies with less staff in high income brackets and more people under 35s comes last. While, the male/female ratio with greater difference comes in 4th.' The use of 'While' at the start of a sentence without a proper clause structure is faulty. Referencing is also occasionally unclear. Paragraphing structure exists, but internal cohesion needs significant improvement. This performance aligns with Band 5.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic response but contains noticeable errors in word choice and collocation. Examples include 'less staff numbers' (should be 'fewer staff members' or 'smaller staff size'), 'staff turn over' (treated as two words incorrectly), and 'gets the first place' (rather than 'achieved the first position' or 'ranked first'). The student attempts less common phrases like 'high income brackets', but overall the lexical range is limited and repetitive. Word formation and spelling errors, such as 'comes last' instead of 'ranked last', cause some strain for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures frequently result in grammatical errors. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('companies with less staff numbers and lowest turnovers gets the first place') and incorrect preposition use ('ratio to get work in' instead of 'ratio for employment'). Punctuation is also problematic, with unnecessary commas separating subjects and verbs. While communication is not entirely blocked, frequent grammatical inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Therefore, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.

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