Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table illustrates the information of staff in five small organizations in Britain which is investigated by a national newspaper for searching the best organization suitable for work.

Overall, the 5th and 3rd company possesses the higher ratio compared to other three companies.

Though the 5th company has the highest number of staffs, its staff turnover percentage is also higher which is almost 33%. Having high salary for the workers in the 3rd company, only 8% staffs leave the company.

Since the ratio of female is much higher and almost 8% of older aged workers in 4th company, its high income bracket is quite lower of about 5%. Additionally, 3rd company has higher income of 74% than other ones

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response falls below the required word count minimum of 150 words, stopping at only 119 words. While the writer attempts to select and report some information from the table, the coverage is partial and lacks a clear overview of the main features. The mention of 'the 5th and 3rd company possesses the higher ratio' is vague and fails to specify which ratio is being discussed. Furthermore, some data points are misinterpreted or inaccurately stated, such as claiming the 4th company has 'almost 8% of older aged workers' when the table indicates 8% of over 55s, and confusing percentages for high income brackets. To improve, you must meet the word count requirement, provide a clearer overall summary of the table's key trends, and ensure that data points are cited accurately without confusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has some basic organisation, opening with a brief introduction and attempting to group some data points into subsequent sentences. However, there is no clear overall progression or logical structure guiding the reader through the data comparisons. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, or awkward, as seen with 'Though the 5th company' and 'Additionally, 3rd company'. Paragraphing is also poorly managed, resulting in a cramped layout that lacks adequate separation of ideas. To achieve a higher band, you need to structure your report with clear paragraphs—such as an introduction, an overview, and distinct body paragraphs for detailed comparisons—and use a wider range of cohesive links naturally and accurately.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, containing frequent inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing. Expressions such as 'illustrates the information of staff', 'for searching the best organization', and 'older aged workers' sound unnatural and show a lack of precision. There are also inappropriate lexical choices like 'possesses the higher ratio' and 'high salary for the workers'. To improve this score, you should expand your vocabulary to include more precise, topic-specific terminology related to data reports, such as 'proportion', 'turnover rate', and 'demographic breakdown', while paying closer attention to standard collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple or faulty complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('the ratio of female', 'in 4th company', '3rd company'), incorrect prepositions ('in five small organizations... which is investigated'), and faulty subject-verb agreement or noun forms ('the number of staffs' instead of 'staff'). These errors can occasionally cause difficulty or confusion for the reader. To move up to a higher band, you need to demonstrate greater control over complex sentence patterns, ensure correct article usage and pluralisation, and eliminate basic grammatical slips.

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