Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The provided table compares the five highest-rated small companies to work for in the UK, based on the results of a national newspaper survey that evaluated staff feedback.

The enterprises where the female ratio of employees is higher than the male are first and fourth. Both having majority of their workers under the age of 35 and only a few or almost none above the age of 55. The staff turnover for these companies are 5 and 13% respectively.

The organizations where male employees dominates the employement is the third company with the highest number of staff ranking in the bracket of high income staff.The second and fourth company got almost same amount of employees in terms of gender and even though fifth company got the most workers and a highest staff turnover of 33%. Their staff within high income bracket is just 2 percent.

Overall it can be cleary seen that, the third company got the most number of employees in high income bracket with more than 82 percent of staff under the age of 35.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant features, including the female-majority companies, the third company’s high-income figure, and the fifth company’s large workforce and high turnover. However, some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear: the second company also has more women than men, so it is not accurately grouped with the male-dominated third company; and the third company has the highest high-income share, at 74%, not more than 82%. The overview also misses important contrasts, such as the fifth company’s 93% under-35 workforce and the fourth company’s older staff profile. The response therefore reports selected details but only partially summarises the main patterns. Check each comparison against the table and make the overview more comprehensive and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to comparisons and then an overall statement. Some linking language, such as “Overall” and “even though,” helps signal relationships. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the second body paragraph combines gender balance, staff numbers, turnover and income without a clear organising principle, and the reference to “the second and fourth company” is difficult to reconcile with the preceding claim about male-dominated employees. The final overview repeats one detail rather than drawing together the main contrasts. Group companies by a clear feature, and use explicit references such as “the second-ranked company” to make comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “highest-rated,” “staff turnover,” “gender,” and “high income bracket,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal alternatives such as “enterprises” and “organizations.” However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise, including “ranking in the bracket of high income staff” and “got the most workers,” while “employement” and “cleary” are spelling errors. “Female ratio” is less natural than “proportion of female employees.” Aim for precise, conventional language for describing table data, and check spelling and collocations during revision. The range is adequate, but accuracy and natural phrasing are not yet consistent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the opening sentence is clear and grammatically controlled. However, several errors in sentence structure and agreement reduce accuracy. “Both having majority of their workers…” is a fragment rather than a complete sentence, and “The staff turnover for these companies are” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “The organizations where male employees dominates,” the verb does not agree with its plural subject, and the sentence structure is awkward. The final sentence also needs clearer construction around “the third company got the most number.” Use complete clauses, check singular and plural agreement, and vary sentence patterns while keeping each comparison grammatically clear.

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