Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-29

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

THE FIVE BEST SMALL COMPANIES TO WORK FOR

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The table represents about the five small business in Britain got here first after a survey of staff conducted by national newspaper in order to figure out which enterprises are best to work for.

Overall,it is observed that under 35's/over 55's are the main to work for company.And staff turnover remains the least to work for businesses.

An analysis of the image reveals that staff numbers 1st postion is only 56 workers and this figure rose to 190 by the 5th position.Followed by male:female ratio majority of the workers marked in 3rd position the ratio is 74:26,smallest is 4th postion 13:87 .

In addition,under 35's/over 55's account for 93%/0% in the 5th position,26%/8% for 4th position.In terms of staff turnover 5% of employees are working for 1st postion and 33% of workers are working in 5th grade.

In contrast,staff in high income bracket 74% of the staff stood in 3rd position and least members in 5th postion it is very low only 2% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the table’s subject and report several relevant comparisons, including the largest workforce at fifth place (190), the highest male proportion at third place (74:26), and the highest turnover at fifth place (33%). However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “under 35's/over 55's are the main to work for company” does not express a clear overall pattern, and turnover is not generally the lowest among the companies, since it ranges from 5% to 33%. Some key contrasts are also omitted, such as the third-place company’s leading high-income share (74%) and the fifth-place company’s very young workforce (93% under 35). Select the main patterns and summarise them accurately before giving supporting figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, an attempted overview and paragraphs containing comparisons. This gives the reader some sense of how the information is organised. However, progression is not consistently clear: the overview’s claims are difficult to interpret, and the body moves between staff numbers, gender, age and turnover without a clear grouping or comparison strategy. Linking phrases such as “Followed by,” “In addition,” and “In contrast” are sometimes awkward or do not show a genuine contrast. Paragraphing is present, but the relationships between details need to be made more explicit. Group related features together and use straightforward links such as “Regarding gender” or “By comparison” only when the figures support them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “staff numbers,” “male:female ratio,” “staff turnover” and “high income bracket,” so the reader can recognise the categories being compared. However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning hard to follow. For example, “the main to work for company” and “workers are working in 5th grade” do not clearly describe the data; “postion” is also misspelled repeatedly. Avoid repeating “position” and “workers are working,” and use precise reporting language such as “ranked first,” “accounted for” and “the proportion of employees.” Check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a few longer structures, such as “in order to figure out which enterprises are best to work for,” and uses some simple statements to report figures. However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors in articles, agreement, punctuation and sentence boundaries make parts difficult to understand. For example, “The table represents about the five small business” has an incorrect construction and singular form, while “Overall,it is observed” lacks spacing after the comma. The sentence beginning “Followed by male:female ratio” is a fragment rather than a complete comparison. Practise writing clear subject–verb sentences, for example, “The third-ranked company had a male-to-female ratio of 74:26,” and check articles, plurals and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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