Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-10

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 4.0)

The tabel below gives an information about the five small companies in britain that come in a survey by national newspaper.

Overall, 5th company has the highest position work for staff number,also in the list under 35s/55s and in staff turn over too.male female ratio 3rd company carries more number than other. In staff high income bracket 3r company work for which in the top list.

Similarly,staff number is higher in 5 th with 190

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the topic and attempt an overview, mentioning staff numbers, age, turnover, gender balance and income. However, several comparisons are inaccurate or unclear: the fifth-ranked company has the most staff and the highest turnover, but it does not have the highest under-35 proportion; the third-ranked company does, at 82%, while the fifth has 93%. The third company also has the highest share of high earners, at 74%, but this is not clearly reported. The response gives almost no supporting figures and ends before the table is meaningfully summarised. It is also substantially below the required 150 words: 66 words were counted, with nine prompt words excluded. Select key contrasts and support them with accurate data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview and a final sentence about staff numbers. The opening “Overall” signals a summary, but the ideas within it are crowded together, and the relationships between the comparisons are difficult to follow. The final “Similarly” does not clearly connect to the preceding point, and the response stops without a developed comparison or conclusion. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and the main details, then group related figures—for example, company size and turnover together, and age, gender and income in another paragraph. Clearer sequencing and linking would make the information easier to understand.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “staff number,” “male female ratio,” “staff turn over” and “high income bracket,” so the reader can recognise the table’s subject. However, the range is narrow and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “has the highest position work for staff number” and “3rd company carries more number.” Spelling and word-form errors, including “tabel,” “britain” and “turn over,” also reduce precision. Aim for standard collocations such as “ranked fifth,” “employs the most staff,” “staff turnover” and “the proportion of employees.” More precise vocabulary would help you describe comparisons without relying on vague wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response attempts simple statements and an overview sentence, but grammatical control is limited and errors often make the intended comparisons hard to interpret. For example, “5th company has the highest position work for staff number” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “3rd company carries more number than other” has problems with article use and comparison. The opening also needs a determiner and a more accurate clause structure: “gives an information” is not grammatical. Most sentences are short or incomplete, and punctuation spacing is inconsistent, as in “number,also.” Practise clear comparative patterns, such as “The fifth-ranked company employs the most staff,” and check articles, sentence boundaries and subject–verb structure.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.