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 given table shows information about the five small Britain companies that stood at the top in a survey of staff conducted by a national newspaper in order to check out that which companies are most suitable to work for.

Overall, the data shows that the 5th company has the largest number of staff members while the 1st one has the lowest number of workers. Moving futher, the 4th company is highly recommended for females while, the third one prefers men more. Moreover, all these companies exept 4th do not have staff older than fifty five years. Furthermore, staff turnover is heighest in the fifth one while lowest in the 1st one. Lastly, it is the third company which is paying highest income to more workers.

The table describes that 5th organization has 190 people while the first one contains only 56. The ratio of female staff is heighest in the 4th workingplace that is 87 as comaprison to men which s only 13. Similarly, all comapnies except the fourth one discourages over 55 years olders to work.

Moving futher, it can be observed that the 3rd company pays high salary to its most of the workers, however, the 5th company gives high pay to only 2 percent of the total staff. In the contrast, it can be seen that the heighest staff turnover is of the last one.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important features accurately: the fifth-ranked company has the most staff (190), the first has the fewest (56), the fourth has the highest proportion of women (87%), and the third has the highest share of high earners (74%). Your overview also notes the contrast in staff turnover, although the first company’s 5% is the lowest and the fifth’s 33% is the highest. However, the claim that all companies except the fourth have no staff over 55 is inaccurate: the second has 1%, and the fourth has the highest figure at 8%. The comparison of male and female representation is useful, but other figures and contrasts are only briefly covered. More precise reporting of the age data and fuller selection of key comparisons would strengthen the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The overview usefully groups staff numbers, gender balance, age, turnover and income, giving the reader a sense of the main comparisons. However, progression is weakened by repeated points: staff numbers and the fourth company’s gender ratio appear in both the overview and the details, while the final paragraph returns to turnover without developing a new comparison. Linking phrases such as “Moving further,” “Moreover” and “In the contrast” are sometimes mechanical or awkward, and the relationship between ideas is not always clear. Grouping related figures into focused paragraphs and using more precise transitions would make the organisation smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “staff turnover,” “ratio,” “income bracket” and “survey,” so the main information is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal wording, such as “organization” and “conducted.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “check out that which companies,” “prefers men more,” and “discourages over 55 years olders to work” do not express the intended comparisons clearly. Spelling errors such as “futher,” “exept,” “heighest” and “comaprison” also reduce control. Aim for standard collocations used to describe data, such as “has the highest proportion” or “employs the fewest staff,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while” and “however,” and most of the comparisons can be understood. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in sentence construction and articles. For example, “in order to check out that which companies” has an awkward clause structure, while “the 5th organization has 190 people” would be more accurate as “the fifth-ranked company employs 190 people.” In “as comaprison to men which s only 13,” the comparison structure and relative clause are faulty; a clearer form is “compared with 13% for men.” Commas are also misplaced in phrases such as “while, the third one.” More accurate clause patterns and punctuation would improve clarity.

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.