Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-14

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 provides the date regarding five minor companines in England that came brillant in a survey of staff conducted by a local newspaper to figure out which companies are extraordinary to work for.

Overall, the number of staff, sex ratio, age limit, staff turnover, and staff in high income bracket vary in these five companies.

In the 1st company only 56 people are empolyee ther, while in 2nd the number of staff is 79. the ratio of male to female workers is 30:70 in the 1st company and 47:53 in the 2nd one. The if we talk about the age, all empolyee are below 35 with 77% in the 1st company, whereas in the second company 59% are under 35 and only 1% are over 55. Lastly, the percentage of worker in high income bracket in both companies is 34%, and 48% respectively.

Now move forward to 3rd and 4th company, they have almost similar number of employee with the difference of additional four people in 4th company. However its sex ratio shows a consideratble difference, in 3rd company the ratio of male and female staff is 74:26, whereas 13:87 in 4th company. Like the 1st company all the empolyee are below 35 that are 82%, while in 4th company 26% are under 35 and 8% over 55. the staff turnover is 8% in 3rd and 13% in 4th one. Finally, their staff in high income bracket is 74%, and 5% respectively.

Now if we describle about 5th company, it contain the highest number of staff with 190 empolyee,the ratio of male and female is 51:49, all the workers are under the age of 35 with 99%, the staff turnover is 33%, and it has the least staff in high income bracket only 2%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover all five companies and report several relevant figures, including staff numbers, gender ratios, age groups, turnover and high-income percentages. However, the overview is too general: saying these measures “vary” does not identify the main patterns, such as the fifth company having the largest workforce and highest turnover, or the third having the greatest share of high earners. There are also important inaccuracies. The first company has 0% over-55s, not “all” employees below 35; the fifth has 93% under 35, not 99%; and the first and second companies’ high-income figures are not combined as clearly as they could be. The opening also misidentifies the newspaper as local rather than national. Select and compare the key features more accurately and make the overview more informative.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and paragraphs grouping the first four companies before discussing the fifth. This grouping helps readers follow the comparisons, and transitions such as “However” and “Finally” signal relationships between points. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, with repeated sequencing phrases such as “Now move forward” and “Now if we describe.” Some links are unclear or faulty, for example “The if we talk about the age,” and the long company-by-company lists make the main comparisons difficult to identify. Use clearer topic sentences and organise information around shared features—for example, workforce size and turnover, then age and income—while ensuring each reference clearly identifies the company being discussed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough task-related vocabulary to communicate the categories and comparisons, including “staff turnover,” “sex ratio,” “under 35,” and “high income bracket.” There are also attempts at more descriptive wording, such as “considerable difference.” However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “date” for “data,” “minor companies” for “small companies,” and “came brilliant” for “ranked first” or “came top.” Spelling errors such as “companines,” “empolyee,” and “describle” are noticeable, while repeated use of “company,” “staff,” and “number” makes the account less precise. Choose standard chart-reporting collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine information using subordinate clauses and comparisons, as in “whereas in the second company 59% are under 35,” and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and attempts at longer sentences often contain errors. Examples include “The if we talk about the age,” which has a faulty sentence opening, and “it contain the highest number,” where the verb form does not agree with its subject. There are also problems with articles, plurals and punctuation, such as “in 4th company” and the run-on ending “190 empolyee,the ratio.” Build sentences around clear subjects and verbs, use articles consistently before ordinal company references, and separate complete ideas with full stops.

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