Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-24

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 6.5)

The table illustrates information about the top five companies best companies to work for in Britain according to the result of a survery conducted by a national newspaper.

Overall, the workforce composition of the five best small companies varied. Except for the 4th company, all the other companies had almost zero employees over the age of 55. Across all the five companies . The company that ranked fifth had the highest number of employees, while the first company had the lowest number of employees.

The highest number of employees was in the 5th ranked company with 190 employees, followed by 2nd company with 79 employees and 4th company with 76 employees. The 3rd company had 72 employees and the lowest head count was for the 1st company with 56 employees. The percentage of males and females were almost equal in 2nd and 5th company, at 47:53 and 51:49 respectively. The proportion of females was greater in the 1st (30:70) and 4th (13:87) company. By contrast, the 3rd had higher proportion of males than females with 74:26 ratio.

The 5th company had the highest number of employees under the age of 35 (93%), while the 4th company had the lowest with 26%. Also the 4th company was the only company with 8% of its workforce over the age of 55. The staff turnover rate was highest for the 5th company at 33%, followed by 2nd company with 18%. The lowest turnover rate was for the 1st company at just 5%. 74% of the staff of the 3rd company fall under high income bracket and the lowest was for the 5th company with 2%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You select and report the main features across the table, including workforce size, gender balance, age profile, turnover and high-income staff. The overview identifies the fifth-ranked company as the largest and the first as the smallest, and notes that the fourth company is the exception for employees over 55; these are accurate, useful comparisons. Most figures are reported correctly, including the fifth company’s 33% turnover and the third company’s 74% high-income share. To make the overview more analytical, highlight other broad contrasts, such as the third company having the highest proportion of high earners while the fifth has the lowest, and the fifth also having the highest turnover. The statement that the other companies had “almost zero” over-55s slightly generalises, since the second company has 1%.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The information is generally grouped sensibly, with staffing and gender figures followed by age, turnover and income data. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical because many sentences repeat “the company” or begin with a similar comparison pattern. The fragment “Across all the five companies .” interrupts the overview and leaves an unfinished thought; remove it or connect it to a complete comparison. Some references, such as “the lowest” in the final sentence, require the reader to infer that this means the lowest high-income share. Use clearer linking and reference, and organise the final paragraph around related comparisons to make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of task-appropriate vocabulary, including “workforce composition,” “staff turnover rate,” “proportion,” and “ranked,” and the meaning is generally clear. There is some flexibility in how you describe comparisons, such as “followed by” and “by contrast.” However, several expressions are repetitive or imprecise: “top five companies best companies” repeats the same idea, while “number of employees under the age of 35” is less concise than “share of staff aged under 35.” There are also spelling and word-choice slips, notably “survery” and “head count.” To strengthen the range, use more precise collocations consistently, such as “staffing levels,” “female-majority workforce,” and “high-income earners.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, and many sentences communicate the figures clearly. Comparatives are generally handled well, for example, “The 5th company had the highest number … while the 4th company had the lowest.” Some grammatical errors remain. “The percentage of males and females were” has a subject–verb agreement problem; use “The percentages … were” or “The male-to-female ratios were.” In “the 3rd had higher proportion,” an article is needed before “higher proportion.” The sentence beginning “Across all the five companies” is incomplete, and the final sentence shifts from past reporting to “fall” rather than “fell.” Check sentence completeness, articles and tense consistency while retaining your range of structures.

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