Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-23

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 4.5)

The table chart below outlines the data of five companies, which remain best in the stuff survey done by a Britain's national newspaper to know which companies are most suitable for work.

Overall, It is clear that all these companies are very different from each other, As the one came on first position, have no employee older than 55 year old,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the subject as a comparison of five companies and begins an overview by noting that they differ. It also correctly observes that the first-ranked company has no employees over 55. However, the report is far from a summary of the table: it gives no meaningful comparisons across the companies and omits nearly all key information, including staff numbers, gender balance, turnover and high-income proportions. The overview is unfinished, ending after a comma, and does not identify broader patterns. At 61 words, it also falls well short of the required 150 words. To improve, complete the overview and select several accurate comparisons, such as the fifth-ranked company’s highest turnover and the third-ranked company’s highest share of high earners.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence introduces the table, followed by a separate paragraph beginning with “Overall”. This gives the reader a simple starting structure. However, the response does not develop into a logical report, and the overview stops mid-thought after “older than 55 year old,” leaving the main point incomplete. The capitalisation after “Overall” and the comma at the end also interrupt the flow. There are no comparisons or supporting details to create progression between ideas. Use a clear introduction, a complete overview, and one or two paragraphs grouping related figures—for example, age and gender patterns, then turnover and income—and connect comparisons explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to identify the general topic, with phrases such as “five companies” and “national newspaper,” and “Overall” signals an attempt to summarise. However, the range is narrow and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task. “Table chart” is redundant, “stuff survey” appears to be a mistaken word choice, and “most suitable for work” does not precisely express the idea of being the best companies to work for. The phrase “came on first position” is also not idiomatic. Use standard data-reporting language such as “ranked first,” “staff,” “employee turnover,” and “the proportion of employees in the high-income bracket.” More precise vocabulary would help make comparisons clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a complex sentence with “Overall, it is clear that … as …,” showing some willingness to go beyond simple statements. However, the structure is incomplete: the clause beginning “As the one came on first position” has no main clause, and the sentence ends without completing the comparison. There are also errors in agreement and number, including “the one … have” and “55 year old,” as well as inconsistent capitalisation after “Overall”. The opening sentence is understandable but relies on a basic structure. Practise writing complete comparison sentences, for example, “The first-ranked company had no employees over 55, whereas 8% of staff at the fourth-ranked company were in this age group.” Check subject–verb agreement, plurals and sentence endings.

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