Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-26

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 shows the data about five Best Small companies in Britain in a survey program conducted by national newspaper.

It can be seen from table that company at the first position contains less number of staff whereas fifth company contain highest number of staffs.

From the table , company at first position has lower number of staff than the company at the second position.Similarly , company at the third position has lower

numbers of staffs than both second and third company and fifth company in survey

has highest figures.Staffs working under 35 year varies in alll five companies as

fifth company registered highest numbers of staffs at 93% and fouth company contain lowest among all at 26% of figures among all staff . Staff turnover at

first company stood at 5% which was nearly four times las less as second

company. Furthermore, fifth company registered highest figure of staff turnover

whereas third company was listed as four times as less as fith company.Similarly,

fourth company faced 13% of staff turnover.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The candidate attempts to summarise the main features of the table, noting information about staff numbers, under-35 employees, and staff turnover across the five companies. However, the response lacks a clear, overarching overview, which is a key requirement for Academic Task 1. Furthermore, some of the data comparisons are repetitive, vague, or contain slight inaccuracies regarding the source data. For instance, the comment that the third company has lower numbers of staff than the second company is correct (72 vs 79), but the phrasing is clumsy. The selection of data is somewhat haphazard rather than carefully structured to highlight the most significant trends. Consequently, the response meets the minimum expectations for a partial overview of the task, earning a band score of 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response shows some basic organisation, with an introductory sentence followed by body paragraphs attempting to compare the data. However, the progression of ideas is frequently disrupted by poor paragraphing and repetitive phrasing. There is an over-reliance on basic cohesive links, and several sentences are crammed together without proper spacing or logical transition, such as 'Similarly , company at the third position has lower numbers of staffs than both second and third company'. Paragraphing is not used effectively to structure distinct comparisons, leading to a somewhat disjointed reading experience. Cohesive devices are occasionally inaccurate or mechanical, which limits the overall coherence of the report.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, frequently reusing terms such as 'company', 'staff', 'numbers', and 'position'. There are several word-form and collocation errors, such as 'less number of staff' instead of 'fewer staff', 'staffs' (staff is uncountable in this context), and spelling errors such as 'alll' and 'fouth'. The student attempts some numerical and comparative vocabulary (e.g., 'nearly four times as less as'), but these phrases are awkwardly constructed or mathematically imprecise. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general topic, the frequent errors and lack of less common lexical items restrict the score to a 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Simple sentences dominate, and attempts at more complex structures are often faulty, as seen in awkward relative clauses or comparative structures like 'fifth company registered highest numbers of staffs at 93% and fouth company contain lowest among all at 26% of figures among all staff'. Punctuation and spacing are poorly controlled, with frequent missing spaces around commas and full stops (e.g., 'Similarly , company'). Grammatical errors—particularly missing articles, subject-verb agreement issues ('company contain', 'staffs ... varies'), and incorrect prepositions—are frequent and occasionally cause strain for the reader, placing this response firmly in the band 5 range.

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