Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-04

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 table shows the 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.

overall, the fifth company has the maximum staff numbers and least staff in high income. the first company accounts for minimum staff number among them whereas it has high number of staff wich are in high income bracket. The second company has the second highest staff numbers however it has quite less number in staff turn over. The 3rd company has quite staff number which are under 35s and highest male:female ratio among the five companies whereas it accounts for lowest staff turnover among the five companies.Furthermore, the 4th company has quite some staff with more female as compared to male,whereas it has second lowest staff which are in high income.

The 1st company accounts for 77% staff under 35s and possess small numbers in staff turnover as compared to rest of companies. The 2nd company has almost equaivalent male:female ratio as 47:53 and stands second in terms of staff in high income with 48% figures. The 3rd company has 82% staff under 35s and it accounts for lowest staff turnover as 8% in all five companies.

The 4th company has 76 staff numbers with 13:87 male:female ratio.This company accounts for lowest staff in high income as compared to all companies.The 5th company have highest number of staff as 190 as compared to rest of companies. furthermore, it is almost equivalent in male:female ratio as 51:49.however, it accounts for lowest staff in high number among all companies as 2%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially by attempting to cover multiple features from the table, such as staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, age demographics, staff turnover, and income brackets. However, the selection of information is somewhat confused and mechanical. For instance, the overview incorrectly states that the fifth company has the 'least staff in high income' (the fourth company is actually lowest at 5% and the fifth is at 2%, but the phrasing mixes up comparisons), and the details provided in the body paragraphs often recount data points rather than synthesising meaningful comparisons. While a general picture is sketched out, key trends are under-developed or inaccurately contrasted, placing the response at this level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic organisation evident in the division into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and subsequent detail paragraphs, which provides some overall structure. However, the progression lacks clarity and logical flow because sentences are often linked mechanically or abruptly without smooth transitions. Cohesive devices are sometimes repetitive or awkwardly deployed, such as overusing 'Furthermore' and 'whereas'. Paragraphing is also disrupted by placing related data points into disjointed chunks across multiple paragraphs rather than grouping them logically by company or category, resulting in a slightly fragmented reading experience.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic statistical concepts and categories from the table such as 'staff turnover', 'income bracket', and 'male:female ratio'. However, there is a noticeable reliance on repetitive phrasing and basic structures, accompanied by word-choice and collocation errors such as 'quite less number in staff turn over' instead of 'a lower staff turnover rate'. Word forms are occasionally inaccurate, for example 'equaivalent' and 'wich', though meaning is generally preserved despite these slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, such as 'The 5th company have highest number' (instead of 'has') and 'staff which are in high income'. Articles are frequently omitted or misused, as seen in 'minimum staff number' and 'lowest staff in high income'. Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic, including missing capitals at the start of sentences and lowercase letters for 'overall'. These errors require some effort from the reader to interpret.

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