Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-31

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 illustrates survey done by the workers on the five small companies which suited outstanding place to work in Britain and was published by the national newpaper.

Overall, the companies listed in 5th company showed the highest number of staffs and more turnover followed by 2nd and 3rd company while 1st company shows minimal number of staffs and less turnover.

To begin with, the number of staff were highest in 5th company and was 190 where2nd company hold 79 and 4th company is 76. the survey show 1st and 2nd company the next one and holds 56 and 72 respectively.

According to the ratio, 5th company leading and it acquires 51:49 whre 2nd company is 47:53 and 3rd company is 47:53. under 35s staffs were highest in 56th company about 93% while 1st cmpany is 77% and 3rd is 82%.Furthermore, over 55 aged staffs were nil in all company whereas 2nd shows only 1% and 4th is 8%.% andth %.

5th company has highest staff turnover and it stated 33% followed by 2nd is 18% ,1st company has minimal terminal and is 5%.

Additionally, the staff who has high income bracket were highest in 2nd company and is 48% and lowest by 2% which is 5th company.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant features, including the fifth-ranked company’s largest workforce and highest turnover, and the first-ranked company’s lowest turnover. However, some comparisons are inaccurate: the third company’s male:female ratio is 74:26, not 47:53, and the highest share in the high-income bracket belongs to the third company (74%), not the second (48%). The overview also says the fifth company has the highest turnover, but does not capture other key contrasts, such as the third company’s high-income figure or the fourth company’s low proportion of under-35s. Some details are unclear or incomplete, including the staff-number comparison and the corrupted age-group sentence. Selecting accurate headline features and checking each figure would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs covering workforce size, age and gender, turnover, and income. This gives the reader some sense of how the information is grouped. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and several comparisons are difficult to follow. For example, “the survey show 1st and 2nd company the next one” conflicts with the figures that follow, while “Furthermore” joins onto the preceding sentence without clear punctuation. The age-group section ends with the confusing fragment “8%.% andth %.” Use clearer topic sentences and organise comparisons consistently—for instance, discuss workforce size and gender together, then age, turnover, and income—while using linking words only where they show a clear relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, such as “staff turnover,” “ratio,” and “high income bracket,” so the reader can recognise the main categories being described. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear. Phrases such as “suited outstanding place to work,” “minimal terminal,” and “highest staff turnover and it stated” do not express the intended comparisons naturally. There are also spelling errors, including “newpaper” and “whre,” and inconsistent forms such as “staffs.” Aim for precise, conventional language for reporting data: describe a company as “ranked first,” say its turnover “was 5%,” and refer to “the number of employees” rather than “staffs.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more extended sentences, and the overall meaning is sometimes recoverable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, with frequent errors in agreement, articles, sentence construction, and punctuation. Examples include “the number of staff were highest,” “the survey show,” and “2nd company hold 79”; these need forms such as “the number of staff was highest,” “the survey shows,” and “the second company had 79.” Some sentences are also incomplete or run together, particularly “Furthermore, over 55 aged staffs were nil in all company whereas…” followed by the corrupted ending. Practise building complete comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check singular/plural agreement and sentence boundaries before finishing.

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