Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The table provides information about the five best small companies to work in Britain based on survey staff. Overall,The fifth company had highest numbers of staff,while first company had lowest staff numbers.The number of male and female ratio is highest in 3rd company, whereas the staff low income bracket in 5th companies. Regarding the number of fifth company employee is 190,while first company 56 employee.The second and third companies employee 79 and 72, whereas the 4th company estimate employee is 76.The male and female ratio 3rd company is largest 74:26, while 4th company ratio is smallest only 13:87.The second and fifth company ratio is 47:53 and 51:49.First company male and female ratio workis just 30:70.

Under35s\ over 55s is substantial percentage in 5th company 93%/0% while 4th company is low only 26%/8%. The staff turnover is 5th company is largest value 33%, while first company staff turnover is smallest only 5% respectively.

In contrast, Staff in high income bracket 48% in 3rd company and low staff income in 5th companies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several relevant features, including the largest and smallest workforces (190 and 56), the contrasting staff-turnover figures (33% and 5%), and the gender ratios. These comparisons show a reasonable grasp of the table. However, some key details are inaccurate: the highest proportion in the high-income bracket is 74% for the third-ranked company, not 48%, and 48% belongs to the second. The overview also says the third company has the highest male-to-female ratio, which is unclear because the table gives ratios rather than a single measure of “highest”; it would be more precise to say it has the highest proportion of men. Develop the overview around the main contrasts and report the high-income figures accurately to make coverage more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable overall structure: an opening overview is followed by details about workforce size and gender, then age, turnover and income. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and the overview combines several points without a clear hierarchy. Linking phrases such as “whereas” and “In contrast” are used, but the final contrast is not well connected to the preceding discussion, and “respectively” does not clarify a comparison. Group related features more deliberately—for example, compare workforce size and gender together, then age, turnover and income—and use references such as “the top-ranked company” consistently to make relationships easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” “percentage,” and “ratio,” so the topic is generally clear. There is also an attempt to vary comparisons with words such as “whereas” and “in contrast.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “based on survey staff,” “employee is 190,” and “staff low income bracket.” The phrase “estimate employee” is also unsuitable for a figure that is stated directly in the table. These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less clear. Aim for accurate collocations such as “survey of staff,” “the company employs,” and “the proportion of staff in the high-income bracket,” and check word forms and spacing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, for example, “The second and third companies employee 79 and 72, whereas…” This shows some effort to connect ideas in more than one way, but sentence control is inconsistent. Errors include missing or incorrect articles and possessives (“first company 56 employee”), subject–verb agreement (“The second and third companies employee”), and incomplete grammatical patterns (“The staff turnover is 5th company is largest value”). Punctuation and spacing also interfere with sentence boundaries, particularly in the opening overview. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “The fifth-ranked company employs 190 people, compared with 56 at the top-ranked company.”

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