Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table illustrates information about the five small companies in UK 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, position have separated in 1st to 5th position.While companies is in first position which have minimum staff member as well organization is in fifth position which have maximum number of staff. Best comapanies are determine in the base of male:female ratio, age, staff turnover, and staff in high income bracket.

In first position, 56 staff worked in this companies, where 30:70 male: female ratio under 35s and over 55s, 5% contributed by staff turnover, and 34% contributed by high income bracket. In second position 79 people worked in their oraganization where 47:53 ration of male and female, where 18% staff turnover and staff in high income bracket is 48%.

In third position, 72 persons employeed, where 8% staff turnover and 74% staff in high income brake.In addition, in fifth position 190 numbers of staff employeed, and 33% staff turnover, where 51:49 is ratio of male and female.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response attempts to address the task by summarizing some information from the table, but it only partially covers the data. While it mentions staff numbers, male-to-female ratios, and turnover for certain companies, the coverage is incomplete and features are handled in a very limited way. For instance, the overview sentence is vague and repetitive, stating that 'position have separated in 1st to 5th position', and key comparative insights across the five companies are missing. Furthermore, several details are lifted directly from the prompt's source text without sufficient rephrasing or effective selection of main features. To improve toward the next level, the response needs to provide a clearer overview of the main trends and develop comparisons across all categories rather than listing isolated data points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organization in the text, with an introductory sentence followed by body sentences attempting to discuss individual rankings. However, there is no clear overall progression or logical structure guiding the reader through the data. Cohesive devices are very limited, repetitive, and often inaccurate, with phrases like 'In first position', 'In second position', and 'In third position' mechanically linking sentences without showing sophisticated relationships. Paragraphing is poorly handled, as the text lacks proper separation of ideas into distinct thematic or comparative paragraphs. To achieve a higher band, the writer must use a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally and structure the essay into clear, logically sequenced paragraphs with an effective overview.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, relying heavily on simple terms and direct copying from the prompt, such as 'small companies', 'survey of staff', and 'male:female ratio'. There are noticeable word choice and word form errors throughout the response, including 'employeed' instead of 'employed', 'ration' instead of 'ratio', and 'brake' instead of 'bracket'. These lexical inaccuracies and the heavy repetition of basic structures restrict the precision of the report. To reach a higher standard, the student needs to incorporate a broader range of vocabulary, use less common synonyms for reporting data (such as 'proportion', 'percentage', or 'proportionate distribution'), and ensure accurate word forms and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The range of grammatical structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('companies is in first position which have', 'organization ... where 18% staff turnover and staff ... is 48%') and missing articles or prepositions. Many sentences are grammatically incomplete or poorly constructed, which can cause difficulty for the reader in following the intended meaning. To improve, the writer must practice forming accurate complex sentences, maintain consistent verb tenses when describing statistical data, and reduce basic grammatical slips.

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