Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-03

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 5.5)

The chart illustrates data about five small industries in United Kingdom that secure to position in a survey of staff examined by a native newspaper to figure out which companies are best to work for.

Overall, the one with minimal staff got first position; meanwhile, bigger teams lead to dificulties and the one with highest members remained last.

Firstly, the factory with lowest number of staff 56 members shortlisted as number one. Furthermore, there were 30% male and 70% workers and 77% people had under 35 age with 0% over 55. Staff accounted for 5% turnover, also 34% indivituals lied in high income braket.

In the data of 2nd position, company had 79 employees with the male:female ration of 47:53, and 59% people with under 35 age, in contrary 1% over 55. The staff turnover was 18% with 48% of high saleried personalities. Moreover, the numbers for the 3rd and 4th business were 72 and 76 members of staff butt in the case of 4th company females ratio was the debateable point with 87%; although, the number of people with high income bracket was something else in 3rd company that had 74 percentage highest among the all. In the last, 5th positioned company had the most embloyees. They had almost similar strength of males and females with a huge staff turnover of 33%. Nevertheless, only 2% staff had high income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by reporting on the five companies and providing some key data points from the table, such as staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, age distributions, turnover, and high-income brackets. However, the selection and reporting of features are limited and lack a fully developed overview. While the introduction attempts a summary, it contains inaccuracies, such as referring to companies as 'industries' and 'factories'. The comparisons made between the companies are basic and under-developed, with some key trends glossed over. To reach a higher level, the response needs a clearer, more accurate overall summary of the main trends shown in the data and a more fully extended comparison of the key features across all five companies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation in the response, with an introductory sentence followed by a body that attempts to step through the survey positions. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the information is presented in a somewhat disjointed manner. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'In the data of 2nd position', which results in a mechanical feel. Paragraphing is attempted, but the main body is lumped into a dense block of text rather than being logically broken down into readable sections. Referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the flow of comparisons. To improve, the writer should use clearer paragraph breaks and more natural cohesive links to guide the reader smoothly through the data.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, containing noticeable errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'turnover', 'bracket', and 'ratio', but these are frequently accompanied by lexical inaccuracies or awkward word choices, such as 'high saleried personalities', 'embloyees', 'indivituals', 'braket', and 'percentage highest among the all'. Spelling errors like 'dificulties', 'indivituals', and 'butt' also detract from the quality of the writing. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to expand their lexical range, ensure greater precision in word choice and collocation, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent errors when attempting more complex patterns. There are frequent issues with prepositions, articles, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'five small industries in United Kingdom that secure to position', 'people with under 35 age', and 'the 5th positioned company had the most embloyees'. Punctuation is also problematic, particularly with run-on sentences and comma splices, such as 'Staff accounted for 5% turnover, also 34% indivituals lied in high income braket.' These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, the student must work on sentence construction, ensuring better control over verb forms, articles, and punctuation in complex clauses.

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