Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-28
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)
This illustration shows the report of the five best small companies to work for. It shows the number of staff members and how they operate in the companies.
The 1st company with the total of 56 staff members have the lowest number of workers. The male staff are more than the female workers with the ratio of 30:70. The workers under 35 years are 70% more and do not likely have staff over 55 years of age. The staff turnover is 5% and the high income bracket is 34%.
In the 2nd company the members are 79 and the ratio of male staff to the female is 47:53 which shows that males are also bigger in number. Staff who are under 35 years are higher with 59% and over 55 years 1%, their turnover is 18% and the ones in high income bracket is 48%.
The 3rd company has about 72 staff, where the male ratio to female is 74:26, under 35 is 82% while under 55 is 0%, staff turnover is 8% and has a high income bracket than the others.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response covers parts of the table, specifically providing details about the first three companies. However, the student stops abruptly after company three, failing to report on the fourth and fifth companies or provide a proper concluding overview. Furthermore, there are some data inaccuracies: for the first company, the student writes 'The male staff are more than the female workers with the ratio of 30:70', which misinterprets the data since 30 represents males and 70 represents females, meaning females are in the majority. Similarly, the statement 'under 35 years are 70% more' misreads the 77% figure. Because the task is incomplete and features are under-developed, this falls into Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response shows some basic organization by dedicating individual paragraphs to each company. However, there is no overall progression or concluding summary, and the essay stops mid-way through the data set. Cohesive devices are very basic and repetitive, mostly relying on simple linking subjects and sequential transitions ('The 1st company...', 'In the 2nd company...', 'The 3rd company...'). Paragraphing is initiated for each company, but the lack of an introduction with an overview and the incomplete nature of the response hinder overall coherence.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic description of the chart, employing terms such as 'staff turnover', 'ratio', and 'high income bracket'. However, there are notable lexical errors and imprecise phrasings, such as writing 'the male staff are more than the female workers' when the data shows the opposite, or 'males are also bigger in number'. The student also misuses collocation with phrases like 'has a high income bracket than the others'. The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive, which restricts the score to a Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The 1st company with the total of 56 staff members have the lowest number of workers.' There are several grammatical and agreement errors throughout the text, for example: 'members have' instead of 'members has', 'are 70% more and do not likely have' which is awkward and ungrammatical, and missing articles in places like 'has a high income bracket than the others'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor errors in syntax and preposition usage constrain the score to a Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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