Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-15

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 6.0)

The table reveals information such as position in survey which was conducted by a national newspaper for different factors like staff numbers, male:female ratio, staff turnover etc about the top five best smallcompanies in Britain.

Comapny that stood at 1st postion had only 56 staff members whereas 5th ranked company had 190. However, unlike other companies, 1st and 3rd ranked companies had considerably lower number of males than females with ratio of 30:70 and 13:87 respectively. Staff over the age of 55 was not the part of 1st, 3rd and 5th level companies while 2nd and 4th positioned hired about 1% and 8% of them. 93% of the hiring in 5th company was under 35.

Interms of staff turnover, figure stayed at 5%, 18%,8%,13% and 33% for 1st to 5th simultaneously. Moreover, a very small percentage of staff i.e 2% was in high income bracket for 5th company followed by 5% in 4th one. Conversely, highest income bracket of 74% was observed in 3rd ranked company.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You select several relevant comparisons, including the contrast in staff numbers (56 in the top-ranked company versus 190 in fifth place), the age profile of fifth place, and income-bracket figures. However, the overview is not clearly stated: the opening mainly introduces the table rather than summarising its main patterns. There is also a significant data-reading error: you say the first and third companies had more women, but give ratios of 30:70 and 74:26; the latter means the third company had more men. The statement that the second and fourth companies employed over-55s is accurate, but the age figures for the first, third and fifth are described imprecisely. A clearer overview and more careful, balanced coverage of the main contrasts would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information is arranged in a generally understandable sequence: you begin with company size and gender, then move to age, turnover and income. Connectors such as “However,” “Moreover” and “Conversely” help signal contrasts, and the figures are mostly grouped by topic. Nevertheless, the response lacks a distinct overview paragraph, so the reader is not first given the key patterns across the table. Some transitions feel mechanical, and “for 1st to 5th simultaneously” makes the relationship between the sequence of figures and rankings less clear. Organising the response into an introduction, a concise overview and two comparison-focused detail paragraphs would make progression more deliberate and cohesion more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” “ranked” and “percentage,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “Conversely” and “considerably lower,” although some choices are inaccurate or awkward: “hiring” suggests recruitment rather than the age composition of current staff, and “highest income bracket of 74%” is not a natural way to describe the proportion of staff in that category. Spelling errors such as “Comapny,” “postion” and “Interms” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise terms such as “employees,” “proportion” and “ranked first,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mixture of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “whereas” and a sentence introduced by “Moreover.” Most of the information remains understandable, which shows reasonable control. Some grammatical and punctuation problems remain, however. In “Staff over the age of 55 was not the part,” the article and sentence construction are faulty; “staff” also needs a clearer plural reference here. The phrase “5%, 18%,8%,13% and 33%” has inconsistent spacing, and “for 1st to 5th simultaneously” is not a well-formed construction. Use complete, direct comparisons—for example, “Turnover ranged from 5% in first place to 33% in fifth”—and proofread articles, agreement and punctuation.

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