Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-07

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 depicts details about small companies in Britain that are positioned at top by a survey of staff in order to find which organizations are best for jobs.

Overall, the 1st positioned company has least number of employs and all of these employs are under 35 and none over 55. While the 5th company has most number of workers and all of them are under 35 and none over 55.

The table also presents male to female ratio, staff turnover and staff in high income bracket. The highest proportion of female staff is presented by 4th company where the male to female ratio is 13:87. Comparatively, the 3rd company has the least proportion of women, i.e 74:26. The staff turnover is most in the 5th company that is 33% whereas it is the least in 1st company i.e 5%. The staff of the 3rd company is highest in high income bracket while only 2% of staff in 5th company.

The table compared the different features of top 5 small companies to work for in Britain.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant extremes, including the smallest workforce in the first-ranked company, the largest in the fifth, the highest female share in the fourth, and the highest turnover in the fifth. However, the overview contains a significant misreading: the first company does not have all staff under 35; 77% are under 35, while the remaining proportion is not specified as over 55. The fifth company has 93% under 35, not all staff. You also omit useful comparisons such as the third company’s 74% high-income share and the fourth company’s low 5%. The response therefore selects relevant features but reports some inaccurately and leaves other important patterns underdeveloped. Check each percentage carefully and make the overview more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph comparing several categories. This helps the reader follow the main points, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Comparatively,” and “whereas” show an attempt to connect comparisons. However, the final sentence repeats the introduction rather than adding information, and the body moves from gender to turnover to income without a particularly clear grouping or progression. Some links are also awkward, as in “while only 2% of staff in 5th company,” which leaves the comparison incomplete. Organise the details into clearer groups and use the final paragraph to develop comparisons rather than restate the task.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “male to female ratio,” “staff turnover,” “proportion,” and “high income bracket,” so the reader can understand the categories being compared. There is also some variation in comparison language, such as “highest,” “least,” and “whereas.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “positioned at top,” “best for jobs,” and “number of employs” do not express the intended meaning naturally. “The staff of the 3rd company is highest in high income bracket” is also unclear. Aim for precise, conventional phrases such as “ranked first,” “best places to work,” and “employees in the highest income bracket.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “While” and comparisons using “whereas.” The main information is generally understandable, but errors recur in sentence construction and grammatical forms. For example, “While the 5th company has…” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence, and “The staff of the 3rd company is highest…” lacks a clear grammatical structure. Articles and plural forms are also inconsistent in phrases such as “in 1st company” and “number of employs.” The final sentence, “The table compared…,” shifts to past tense even though the table still presents information. Build complete sentences, check articles and plurals, and keep tense consistent.

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