Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table comapres between five small Britain companies, which is better to work for.

Over all it is clear that, 3rd company had the largest staff income bracket, while 5th company had the lowest. It is also noticeable that, 5th company had the largest number of staff.

looking first at 3rd company, it has 72 members and staff ration for male female is 74:26 and the highest income bracket which is 74% making it best company to work. Similarly, followed by 2nd company has the 79 staff member and ration for male and female is 47:53 and staffhad high income is 48%.

Returning to rest of companies, 4th company staff mamers are 76 with ration of 13:87 male female and 5% of high income employee. In contrast 5th company had the lowest high income staff and it has the number of employee is higher than others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies a relevant overall feature: the third-ranked company has the highest proportion of staff in the high-income bracket, while the fifth has the lowest and the most employees. It also includes some accurate figures, such as the third company’s 74% high-income share and 72 staff. However, coverage is minimal and several important comparisons are missing, including the first company’s figures, age profiles, and turnover rates. The overview also says the third company is therefore the best to work for, although the table reports rankings rather than explaining their causes. The response is 146 words, below the required 150. To improve, summarise the main patterns across the five companies and support them with selected accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic structure: an opening, an overview, and paragraphs that discuss selected companies. Linking phrases such as “looking first” and “In contrast” show an attempt to guide the reader. However, progression is limited: the response moves from the third company to the second, then to the fourth and fifth, without a clear organising principle, and the first-ranked company is omitted. Some connections are awkward or unclear, particularly “Similarly, followed by 2nd company” and “Returning to rest of companies.” Group the companies by meaningful contrasts—for example, high versus low income shares—and use straightforward transitions to make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant vocabulary for describing a table, including “staff,” “ratio,” “income bracket,” and “largest.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the report difficult to read. For example, “staff income bracket” is unclear where “staff in the high-income bracket” is intended, and “staff ration” appears to mean “male-to-female ratio.” There are also spelling errors such as “comapres,” “mamers,” and “ration.” Aim for precise, repeated-use terms such as “proportion,” “workforce,” and “staff turnover,” and check spelling before submitting. This would make the comparisons clearer and more appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. Examples include “The table comapres between five small Britain companies,” where the sentence pattern and article use are faulty, and “Similarly, followed by 2nd company has the 79 staff member,” which lacks a clear grammatical structure. Agreement and number are also problematic in “it has 72 members” followed by “staff member,” while “5th company had the lowest high income staff and it has the number of employee is higher” combines incompatible clauses. Use clear sentence frames such as “The second-ranked company employs 79 people” and check articles, plurals, and verb forms. More accurate sentence construction would make the data easier to understand.

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