Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-12

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 illustrates the result of survey about the five small companies located in Britain, that appear top in a survey of staff organzied and lead by a national newspaper to find out which companie are the finest work for.

overall, we can see that the most eye-catching information is given that the fifth company have the highest number of employees, and they have a balanced ratio of male and female in thier company. and the most interesting thing is 5th company have 93% under 35s afe category staff which leads them to have most number of young age staff in their company. And, the first company also have majority of under 35s age of staffs but they have more female raito in their company campared to males.

On the other hand, third company holds the record of highest income bracket of staffs also contain second highest majority of age 35s staffs with marginal rate of female staffs.

however, fourth company has the highest number of female staffs with 13 percent staff turnover. although second company is also perfroming good with a balanced sgare of male and female staffs with the second highest staff high income bracket.

In conclusion. in term of age 5th company have the highest number of young employees with also leading in staff turnover and only fourth company have 8 percen of old employees age of 55s.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant features, including the fifth-ranked company’s largest workforce (190), the third company’s highest share of high earners (74%), and the fourth company’s largest proportion of women and the only notable over-55 group (8%). However, some comparisons are inaccurate: the fifth company has the highest staff turnover (33%), not merely a leading rate, and the first company—not the fifth—has the lowest turnover (5%). The claim that the fifth company has a balanced gender ratio is broadly supported, but the overview focuses heavily on this company and does not clearly summarise the table’s main contrasts. Some details are also unclear, such as “second highest majority of age 35s.” Select the key comparisons more precisely and report them with accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an introduction, a broad overview, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, so there is an attempt to organise the information into sections. Some comparisons are grouped by company, which helps the reader follow the data. However, progression is not consistently clear: the overview repeats points about the fifth company, while the body paragraphs move between age, gender, income and turnover without a clear comparison pattern. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand,” “however” and “although” are sometimes used where the relationship between ideas is not a contrast. The conclusion also repeats earlier information rather than drawing the main comparisons together. Organise the body by themes—such as age and gender, then turnover and income—and use linking expressions only when their meaning fits.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of vocabulary relevant to describing the table, including “balanced ratio,” “staff turnover,” “income bracket” and “majority.” However, the range is limited by repeated or imprecise phrasing, and several expressions are not natural in this context. For example, “the finest work for” does not clearly express “best to work for,” while “age 35s staffs” and “marginal rate of female staffs” make the intended comparisons difficult to understand. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “organzied,” “companie,” “thier” and “perfroming.” Use standard data-reporting phrases such as “the proportion of employees,” “ranked first,” and “the highest turnover,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt longer sentences and use some subordinate clauses, for example “which leads them to have…” and “although second company is also…”. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, sentence boundaries and punctuation occur throughout. Examples include “the fifth company have,” “the first company also have,” and “only fourth company have,” where the subject and verb do not agree and articles are missing. The opening sentence is also difficult to control, with several clauses joined by commas. Capitalisation is inconsistent, as in “overall” and “however” after full stops. Practise accurate simple comparisons first, then combine them using controlled clauses; check subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence punctuation.

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