Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-01

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)

To start of the position of survey of 5 small companies to work

it following that. ➡️number one is staff member first is 56 second is 79 third is 70 fourth is 76 and 5th is 190 the highest staff in 5th company according to the graph

➡️number 2 is shows the ratio of male and female in companies one is 30:70 second is 47:53

third days 74: 26 forth is 13:87 and last fifth is 51:49 consequently the third company have more male workers and less female workers and first company have more female vocal and less male workers

➡️third is shows the age of under 36 and over 55 first company have 77%/0% members. second company have 59%/1% members. third company have 82%/0% members. Fourth company have 26%/8% members. fifth company have 95%/0%members. consequently company have highest under 36 age people

➡️ fourth is shows the staff turnover first company have 5% turnover second company have 18% turnover 3rd company have 8% turnover Ford company have 18% turnover fifth company have 33% turnover therefore number fifth have highest turnover which is 33

➡️ forth is stand for staff in highest income brackets first company is 34% second company is 48% third company is 74% fourth company is 5% and last Fifth company is 2% income therefore number 3rd company have highest income rackets

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the task only minimally, resulting in a low band. The student attempts to report data from the table by listing figures category by category, such as staff numbers, ratios, ages, turnover, and income brackets. However, the information is presented in a mechanical and disjointed manner rather than as a well-summarised overview. Furthermore, some data points contain inaccuracies or typos compared to the source table, such as stating '70' instead of '72' for the third company's staff number and '95%' instead of '93%' for the fifth company's younger age bracket. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to select and report the main features more accurately and make relevant comparisons across the companies rather than merely listing raw statistics point by point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The organization of the text lacks a clear overall progression. Instead of standard paragraphs, the student uses repetitive arrow markers and list-like formatting, such as '➡️number one is staff member' and '➡️number 2 is shows the ratio'. Cohesive devices are minimal, mechanical, and frequently misused, relying heavily on words like 'consequently' and 'therefore' without logical connections to the preceding clauses. Paragraphing is absent, which hampers the readability and logical flow of the report. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the student must structure the response into a proper introduction, body paragraphs, and overview, while using a wider range of cohesive devices accurately to link ideas logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic, repetitive, and limited to elementary terms directly copied or slightly modified from the prompt, such as 'staff number', 'company', 'ratio', and 'turnover'. There are several word choice errors, inappropriate word forms, and spelling mistakes, including 'vocal' instead of 'female', 'Ford' instead of 'Fourth', and 'brackets' misspelled as 'rackets'. These lexical limitations and errors restrict the response to a lower band. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to build a broader vocabulary related to data reporting and economics, using synonyms and less common lexical items with greater precision and correct spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of fragmented, run-on sentences that lack proper punctuation and standard structure. There are frequent, noticeable errors in basic grammar, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'the third company have' instead of 'has', missing articles, and faulty prepositions within grammatical patterns such as 'in highest income brackets'. Punctuation is largely neglected, with run-on phrasing and missing periods at sentence boundaries. To reach a higher band, the writer must demonstrate a better mix of simple and complex sentence forms, ensure accurate verb-subject agreement, and improve punctuation control to make the writing easier to follow.

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