Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-02

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 6.0)

The table presents the information on five small companies in Britain that came up top in a a survey conducted by a National newspaper to find out which companies are best for work.

Overall, 1st company has minimum while last has most staff members among the other firms.Except for 3rd company all other companies have female dominating staff. Staff from third comapny earn the highest. Apart from the 4th company, the other companies have most staff young.

Company in fifth have 190 staff members while first company has 56. The second, third and fourth comapanies have 79, 72 and 76 staff members respectively. Third firm is male dominating company, with male female ratio of 74:26. While 1st, 2nd and 4th companies have more female staff then male, with ratios of 30:70, 47:53 and 13:87. Whereas the fifth company has almost equal distribution of staff(51:49).

Last place company has 93% of staff under 35 years of age while other company's stats in same age bracket are, 77% in first, 59% in 2nd, 82% in third, and 26% in 4th place firm. The staff turnover ranges from 5% to 33%. 74% of staff in 3rd company is in high income bracket while only 2% is in 5th firm.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify several important comparisons accurately: the first-ranked company has the fewest employees (56), the fifth has the most (190), the third has the highest proportion in the high-income bracket (74%), and the fifth has the highest share of under-35s (93%). The overview also notes the female majority in most firms and the exception of the third. This covers the main features, with some of the key comparisons already clearly selected. However, the overview’s claim that all companies except the fourth have “most staff young” is imprecise: the table gives under-35 percentages, but does not establish that this group is a majority in the fourth, and the fifth’s 93% is especially notable. Turnover is mentioned only as a range, and the over-55 figures are omitted. More precise overview statements and a few selected supporting comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs grouping staffing, gender, age, turnover and income information. This makes the main comparisons reasonably easy to follow. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weakened by abrupt or mechanical links, such as “While” and “Whereas” beginning separate sentences, and “Last place company” shifts from ranking to age without a smooth transition. Some references are also unclear: “other companies” and “other company’s stats” require the reader to work out which firms are being compared. Group related figures more deliberately—for example, discuss age and turnover together only if the relationship is clear—and use explicit references such as “the fifth-ranked firm” consistently.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” “male female ratio,” and “almost equal distribution.” These choices communicate the subject matter, and there is some variation in how comparisons are expressed. However, several phrases are unnatural or imprecise for an academic report: “came up top,” “best for work,” “female dominating staff,” and “staff from third company earn the highest.” Spelling errors such as “comapny” and “comapanies” also reduce accuracy. Prefer standard reporting language and precise descriptions of proportions, such as “ranked first,” “best places to work,” “women outnumber men,” and “the third-ranked company had the largest share of high earners.” Check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple statements and more complex comparisons, and the overall meaning is generally clear. Some sentence forms are controlled, such as “The second, third and fourth companies have 79, 72 and 76 staff members respectively.” However, there are some errors in articles, agreement, sentence boundaries and punctuation. For example, “1st company has minimum” needs an article and a clearer grammatical construction; “Company in fifth have” has subject–verb disagreement; and “While 1st, 2nd and 4th companies…” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence. There are also missing spaces after full stops and inconsistent comma use. Practise complete comparative sentences and check articles, singular/plural agreement and punctuation while editing.

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