Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-05

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 6.5)

The table shows the five best small companies to work for in Britain, according to a survey answered by employees to a national newspaper.

Overall, most of the staff members in the five enterprises were under 35 years old, and only the 5th placed company had more than 100 employees. Additionally, there are significant variations regarding male and female ratio, staff turnover and high income bracket.

In terms of things in common, all the five companies work with a limited number of people aged over 55 (1% for the 2nd position and 8% for the 4th position) or none. The total of staff members had the most variation within the 1st position, 56 staffs, and the 5th position, 190 staff, while the others had a range from 72 to 79 employees.

The top company to work for had also fewer staff turnover, only 5%, while the 5th top enterprise presented 33%. In comparison, the high income bracket presented the most variation in the table, with 34%, 48% 74%, 5%, and 2% in order of the position of the survey. Finally, male:female ratio varied siginificantly, between 13:87 to 74:26.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear overview and reporting the main features of the table, including comparisons. For instance, you correctly noted that most staff members across the enterprises were under 35 years old and highlighted the contrast in staff numbers between the first and fifth positions. Your overview is relevant and grounded in the data. However, some ideas tend to over-generalize or lack full extension; for example, mentioning that 'all the five companies work with a limited number of people aged over 55' overlooks that three of the companies had precisely 0% in this category. Addressing these nuances more precisely would elevate this section further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your writing displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the summary details. You make reasonable use of cohesive devices to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall,' 'In terms of things in common,' and 'Finally.' However, cohesion is at times slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure, and referencing can occasionally feel abrupt, such as shifting suddenly between staff counts and turnover rates within sentences. To reach a higher level, transitions between sentences and paragraphs could be managed more flexibly and smoothly without relying heavily on formulaic transition markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common terms such as 'enterprises,' 'variations,' and 'bracket.' However, there are some lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices that prevent a higher score, such as 'survey answered by employees to a national newspaper' (where 'conducted among employees' would be more natural) and 'fewer staff turnover' (where 'lower' should be used with an uncountable noun). Spelling is generally accurate, but occasional minor slips in collocation and phrasing indicate that your lexical control is firmly at this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You make effective use of a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating comparative structures and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward patterns present, such as '56 staffs' (staff is uncountable in this context) and 'siginificantly' (spelling error classified under lexical, but grammatical agreement includes issues like 'there are significant variations... while the others had a range'). Punctuation and verb tenses are generally handled well enough that meaning is never impeded, but persistent minor errors in plurals, prepositions, and article usage keep your control at this tier.

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