Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-02

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 provides insights on the five small companies in Britain that topped the survey conducted by a national newspaper in order to find out the best companies to work for. The survey describes their position by five distinct parameters.

Overall, the organisation with the lowest number of staff members, in which female employees occupied a greater proportion and with a lower staff turnover, reached at top rank. Whereas the company with the highest number of staff members and staff turnover secured fifth rank.

The organisation with only 56 staff members, a 30:70 male: female ratio, no staff above the age of 55 years, 5% staff turnover, and 34% of workers contributing to higher income section secures first position. While for the companies at intermediate ranks of second and third have higher number of employees with an unequal ratio of male to female workers, as well as a higher number of staff aged under 35 years.

The organisation securing fourth position has 76 staff members, a higher proportion of female workers, and a higher number of people aged under 35 years. While for the company at fifth rank has highest number of staff members at 190 and has most to staff aged under 35 years with staff turnover of 33%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by attempting to summarise the table data and identifying some key features, such as the characteristics of the first and fifth-ranked companies. However, the selection of details is somewhat mechanical and unevenly developed. While the overview captures the contrast between the first and fifth positions, some of the detailed descriptions in the body paragraphs merely list data points without sufficient synthesis or comparison. For example, the mention of the fourth and fifth positions provides isolated statistics rather than fully connecting them to broader trends across the survey. To reach a higher band, the response needs to present a more comprehensively selected and fully developed overview of the main trends, ensuring that comparisons between the five companies are drawn more sharply and consistently throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from an introductory statement to an overview and subsequent body paragraphs detailing the companies. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sections of the response. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical. Phrasing such as 'While for the companies at intermediate ranks' and 'While for the company at fifth rank' results in fragmented or grammatically incomplete transitional structures. Referencing and cohesive devices are functional but sometimes lack fluency. To achieve a higher level, the writer should employ a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that sentences connect smoothly without awkward introductory prepositions or disjointed transitional clauses.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating a sufficient range to communicate information about survey data, staff numbers, and demographics. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'proportion', 'turnover', and 'intermediate ranks'. However, there are some word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'reached at top rank' instead of 'reached the top rank' and 'contributing to higher income section' instead of 'falling into the high income bracket'. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate and do not impede communication. To move into a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate greater precision in word choice and incorporate more sophisticated collocations and less common lexical items with consistent accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising relative clauses and participial phrases alongside basic structures. There are several grammatical errors present, particularly with prepositions, articles, and sentence completion. Instances such as 'insights on' instead of 'insights into', 'secured first position' missing an article, and incomplete clauses beginning with 'While for the company' reflect some lack of grammatical control. Nevertheless, these errors are relatively minor and rarely impede overall communication. To attain a higher band, the writer should increase the proportion of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over prepositions and article usage across a wider variety of syntactic structures.

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