Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-29

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 6.0)

The table compares information about five best small companies in Britain to work for, that was top in a staff survey conducted by a national newspaper.

Overall, the table demonstrates the position in survey of each company, the staff numbers, the male to female ratio, the age bracket percentage of the staff under 35 and over 55, the staff turover percentage, and the high income bracket percentage of the staff.

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th position companies almost have the same number of staff, while the 1st one has lowest staff. In contrast, the 5th one has the highest staff. The 4th company has the lowest male to female ratio; meanwhile the 3rd one has the greatest. Most companies do not have staff over the age of 55, but the 4th company has 8% working members who are over 55. The 5th company has the greatest staff turnover percentage as compared to 1st which has the lowest staff turnover.

While the staff of 1st and 2nd companies have the same medium income bracket, the 3rd one their staff working in the highest income bracket; in contrast, the 4th and 5th company has the lowest.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses the main features of the visual data, providing an overview and highlighting key comparisons among the five companies, such as staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, age brackets, turnover, and income levels. For instance, the student correctly notes that the fifth company has the highest staff count and turnover percentage, while the first company has the lowest staff turnover. However, there are some inaccuracies and awkward phrasings in reporting specific data points, such as stating 'While the staff of 1st and 2nd companies have the same medium income bracket, the 3rd one their staff working in the highest income bracket', which is grammatically disjointed and slightly misinterprets the data categories. Overall, the main features are covered, but a bit more precision in reporting exact figures or proportions would elevate the task response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement with a traditional four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing specific metrics. Cohesive devices and transition markers such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'meanwhile' are used to connect ideas and create a logical flow between sentences. However, referencing and transitions are occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive, and paragraphing could be better managed to group related themes together more cohesively. For example, moving directly from staff numbers and ratios to age brackets and turnover within the same paragraph feels a bit disjointed, but the logical progression remains discernible throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, incorporating terms such as 'male to female ratio', 'age bracket percentage', 'staff turnover', and 'income bracket'. However, there are instances of lexical inaccuracy and awkward collocation, such as 'staff turover' (spelling error) and 'working members' instead of employees or staff. Attempts to use less common vocabulary sometimes result in awkward phrasing, such as 'the 3rd one their staff working in the highest income bracket'. Despite these vocabulary errors and a spelling mistake, communication is not impeded, meeting the requirements for a band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including comparative constructions like 'while the 1st one has lowest staff' and 'The 4th company has the lowest male to female ratio; meanwhile the 3rd one has the greatest.' There are several grammatical errors and omissions, notably missing articles ('has lowest staff', 'has the highest staff', 'the 4th and 5th company') and severe structural breakdown in the final sentence ('the 3rd one their staff working in the highest income bracket'). While simple sentences are generally accurate, complex clauses contain frequent errors. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader but do not completely obscure the intended meaning.

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