Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-28

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 gives information from a survey conducted by a national newspaper on five small companies in Britain to find out which companies are the best to work for.

It compares their staff number, male female ratio, age, staff turnover and staff with high income.

The company ranking first has 56 member staff with more female staff (70)

the males being 30, it's staff members are all under 35 years of age having the least staff turnover of just 5%.

The company ranking second has a higher staff member of 79 persons with the females slightly higher than the male, it also has most of it's staff under 35 years of age with just 1% being over 55 years. The third company similarly has 72 staff, with the highest male ratio with 74 men and the highest income earners across board with 74%. The fourth company has more female staff across board with 87 women. The fifth conpany has the highest staff member with 199 persons all under 35 years of age with the least percentage of high income earners being 2%.

This table illustrates their strengths and weaknesses and shows that the best amongst them has more women in the workforce all under 35 years of age, remarkably this survey shows that staff turnover has no direct implications

on their productivity, as well as female gender inclusion and participation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the table’s subject and report several relevant comparisons, including the first-ranked company’s 56 employees and 5% turnover, and the third-ranked company’s 74% in the high-income bracket. However, the task is only partly covered: there is no clear, accurate overview of the main patterns, and some details are misreported. The first company’s staff are not all under 35; 77% are under 35 and none are over 55. The second company has 59% under 35, not the most, while the fifth has 190 employees, not 199, and 93% under 35 rather than all. The claim about productivity is not supported by the table. Select the strongest comparisons and summarise them without adding conclusions the data cannot establish.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction, descriptions of the companies, and a concluding comment. This gives the reader some sense of organisation, and phrases such as “The company ranking second” help signal movement through the rankings. However, the body is largely a list of companies rather than a clearly grouped comparison, and the overview appears only at the end. Some links are awkward or unclear, such as “The third company similarly” and “across board.” The final sentence introduces claims about productivity and gender inclusion without a clear connection to the figures. Grouping related patterns—for example, staff age and turnover, then gender and income—and placing a concise overview near the beginning would create clearer progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the general subject, including “staff turnover,” “male ratio,” and “high income earners.” There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “conducted by a national newspaper.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “higher staff member,” “more female staff across board,” and “highest income earners across board.” “Member staff” is also an awkward way to describe employee numbers, and “conpany” is misspelled. These choices sometimes make comparisons harder to interpret. Aim for standard data-reporting collocations and precise terms, such as “number of employees,” “a higher proportion of women,” and “the largest share of high-income staff.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes both simple statements and longer sentences, and the main subject is generally understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer constructions. For example, “The company ranking first has 56 member staff with more female staff (70) the males being 30” lacks clear sentence boundaries and has an incomplete final clause. In “it's staff members,” the possessive should be “its,” and “has a higher staff member of 79 persons” has an inaccurate grammatical construction. Commas are also used where full stops or clearer clause links are needed. These recurring errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise writing shorter, complete comparison sentences first, then combine them with accurately punctuated clauses.

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