Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-17

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 five small companies in england that came top in a survey of staff carried out by national newspaper to find out which firms are the best to work for.

Overall, The 3rd company had majority of staff in high income bracket but majority of workers were men. while all the companies had majority of workers under 35 age bracket.

Regarding staff numbers, the fifth firm employed the largest workforce consisting 190 workers, where as first company employed only 56 people making it least work provider, others being in 70s range, The male-female ratio in third company was 74:26 majority being men. The 5th firm had almost equal ratio. And other three firms had majority female staff.

Majority of staff in all these cooperations had majority individuals under age 35 only fourth firm had 8% staff over age 55 and 1% in second company, In third business 74% was earning in high bracket range while in fifth firm less than 2% earned high income, Tho fifth firm had good staff turnover over 33% and first company at only 5% turnover.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several relevant features, including the largest and smallest workforces, the male majority in the third-ranked company, and the high turnover in the fifth-ranked company. Your overview also attempts to summarise age patterns and income, but it contains an important inaccuracy: the third company’s workforce is not mostly men; its male:female ratio is 74:26, so it is. However, the overview says the third company had the highest high-income share, which is accurate. Some comparisons are unclear or incomplete: for example, the first company’s 5% turnover is the lowest, while the fifth’s 33% is the highest, but the other figures are not reported. Develop the main contrasts more precisely and ensure each statement matches the table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of details. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and several ideas are joined in ways that make their relationships unclear. In the overview, “while all the companies…” follows a sentence about the third company without a clear connection. The final paragraph moves from age to income and then turnover in one long sequence, with little signposting. Linking expressions such as “Regarding” and “And” are used, but some transitions feel mechanical or incomplete. Group related comparisons together—for example, workforce and gender, then age, income and turnover—and use clearer sentence boundaries and references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “workforce,” “male-female ratio,” “high income bracket,” and “staff turnover.” These choices make the subject generally clear. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “least work provider,” “good staff turnover,” and “majority of individuals under age 35.” “Good” is especially imprecise because a high turnover rate is not necessarily positive. There are also spelling and form issues, including “Tho” and “cooperations,” which reduce the accuracy of the vocabulary. Aim for concise, conventional report language and use terms such as “smallest workforce,” “highest turnover rate,” and “employees aged under 35.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main comparisons can usually be understood. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “The fifth firm employed the largest workforce consisting 190 workers, where as first company employed only 56 people…” has a missing preposition after “consisting,” an incorrect form of “whereas,” and a missing article. The sentence beginning “Majority of staff…” also combines several ideas without reliable punctuation, making the relationships difficult to follow. Capitalisation after full stops is inconsistent, as in “while” after the overview’s first sentence. Use shorter, complete sentences when listing figures, and check articles, verb patterns, and punctuation before submitting.

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