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 illustrate the information about five samll companies in britain that came top in a survey of staff handling by national newspaper to find out which companies are the better to work for .

In an overview in the table the highest numbers of staff in the 5th categories the five best small companies to work for , and the lowest is 1st/first categories , and the highest ratio of male and female is 3rd/third categories and the lowest proportion in the 4th /fourth categories .

First and foremost in the table the five best small companies to work for the numbers of staff in the first campany is 56 , and in the seconed company is 79 , as well as in the third company the numbers of staff is 72 , and in the fourth company the number of staff is 76 , however the number of staff in the fifth company is 190. Additionally the ratio of male and female in th efirst company is 30:70 , and in the seconed company is 47:53 , furthermore the ratio of staff in the third company is 74:26 , moreover the proportion of staff in the fourth comapny is 13:87 , and in the fifth company the ratio of staff is 51:49 . However the percentage in the under 35 and over 55 in five companies the first is 77%/0% and is the 59%/1% , and third the proportion of staff os 82%/0% , and in the fourth copmny the percentage of under 35 and over 55 is 26%/8% , and in the fifth is 93%/0%. Furthermore the proportion of staff turn over in the first company is 5% , and in the seconed company is 18% , as well as in the third, fourth and fifth company is 8% , 13% and 33% .

At least but not last inthe five best small companies to work for the staff in high income bracket in the first company is 34% , and seconed is 48% and thirs is 74% , and fourth is 5% . At the end of in the fifth company is 2% .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You report figures from all five rows, including staff numbers, gender ratios, age groups, turnover and high-income brackets, and most of these figures match the table. However, the overview is unclear and includes a misleading comparison: the fifth-ranked company has the most staff, but the first-ranked company has the fewest; the statement about the “highest ratio of male and female” is not clearly defined. The response mainly lists data rather than selecting and highlighting the most important patterns. For example, it could have noted that the fifth-ranked company combines the largest workforce and highest turnover with the lowest high-income share, while the third-ranked company has the highest high-income share. A clearer overview and more purposeful comparisons would make the key features easier to understand.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, a long body paragraph and a final paragraph. This gives the information some organisation, and the figures are generally presented in the order of the companies. However, there is no clear progression from the main patterns to supporting details, and the body becomes a lengthy sequence of figures. Linking phrases such as “Additionally,” “furthermore,” “moreover” and “however” are repeated or do not always show a meaningful relationship between ideas. The overview also combines staff numbers and gender ratios without explaining the comparisons. Grouping related features and using clearer references—for example, comparing the first and fifth companies directly—would improve the flow and reduce the list-like effect.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” “proportion” and “ratio,” so the reader can identify the categories being described. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, sometimes making the meaning less clear. Examples include “survey of staff handling,” “the better to work for,” and “the highest numbers of staff in the 5th categories.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “samll,” “seconed,” “comapny” and “thirs.” Repeated use of “company,” “staff” and “proportion” also makes the report sound repetitive. Practise accurate table-reporting phrases such as “ranked fifth,” “had the largest workforce” and “accounted for” to express comparisons more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt longer sentences and use some connecting structures, but control is inconsistent. The opening, “The table illustrate,” has a subject–verb agreement error, and several sentences contain faulty or incomplete grammatical patterns, such as “the highest numbers of staff in the 5th categories” and “At the end of in the fifth company.” Long sentences joined by repeated conjunctions also make relationships between clauses difficult to follow. Articles, plurals and sentence boundaries are not consistently controlled, as seen in “in the first campany” and the extended sequence beginning “Additionally the ratio…”. Use shorter, complete sentences and check that each has a clear subject and verb. A wider range of accurately controlled sentence forms would make the data easier to read.

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