Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

THE TABULAR CHART ILLUSTRATES THE INFORMATION ABOUT TOP FIVE SMALL ORGANISATION THAT ARE RESULT OF RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER TO EXTRACT THE INFORMATION THAT WHICH COMPANIES ARE THE BEST TO WORK FOR.

IT IS EVIDENT THAT,FIFTH POSITIONED COMPANY HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF STAFF,WHEREAS FIST POSITIONED HAS THE LOWEST NUMBER OF STAFFMEMBERS.THIRD AND FOUTH POSITIONED ORGANISATION HAS CONTRADICT SEX RATIO WHICH IS 74:26 AND 13:87 MALE AND FEMALE RATIO RESPECTIVELY.

MOVING AHEAD,FIRST POSITION COMPANY NOT ONLY HAS THE ZERO PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE OVER 55,BUT ALSO HAS THE 5PERCENTAGE OF STAFF TURNOVER WHICH IS LOWEST OF ALL.WHEREAS,FIFTH POSITIONED HAS THE MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 35 IS 93% AND HAS THE HIGHEST STAFF TURNOVER BY 33%.STAFF IN HIGH INCOME BRACKET HAS HIGHEST PERCENTAGE WHICH IS 74% IN 3RD POSITIONED AND FIFTH HAS THE LOWEST 2%.

OVERALL,EVERY COMPANY HAS ITS DIFFERENT KIND OF QUALITY FOR EACH CATEGORY OF AGE

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant comparisons, including the fifth-ranked company having the most staff and highest turnover, and the third-ranked company having the largest share of high earners. However, the response only partially covers the table: it omits important contrasts such as the male:female ratios across the other companies and the age figures for most positions. The overview is also vague—“every company has its different kind of quality” does not summarise the main pattern clearly. There is a factual error in saying the first-ranked company has the lowest staff number; the fifth-ranked company has the highest, but the first has 56, compared with 72 for third and 76 for fourth. The response is 141 words, below the 150-word minimum, and the eight words copied from the prompt were not counted. Develop a clearer overview and report a broader selection of accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, moving from an introduction to comparisons and then a concluding overview. Linking expressions such as “whereas” and “moving ahead” show an attempt to connect information. However, progression is not always clear: the second paragraph combines staff numbers with gender ratios, while the next shifts among age, turnover and income without a consistent comparison pattern. Some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “which is 74% and 13:87 male and female ratio respectively.” The final sentence does not effectively conclude the summary or connect to the main features. Organise the body by themes—for example, workforce profile first, then turnover and income—and use clear references to each company’s position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” “percentage” and “male and female ratio,” so the reader can recognise the categories being compared. There is also an attempt to vary wording with “individuals” and “organisation.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “top five small organisation,” “extract the information,” “contradict sex ratio” and “different kind of quality.” These expressions make parts of the report difficult to interpret. Spelling and word-form problems, including “fist” and “fouth,” also reduce precision. Aim for standard table-reporting collocations and use the category labels directly; this will make your comparisons clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, using structures such as “whereas” and “not only…but also.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and punctuation sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “Third and fourth positioned organisation has” has a plural subject with a singular verb, while “the highest percentage of individuals under 35 is 93%” is an awkwardly constructed clause. Several sentences also run together without appropriate spacing or punctuation. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “The third-ranked company has the highest proportion of high earners.” Check agreement and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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