Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-03

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 in the figure shows a survery results printed on a newspaper. The results shows some statistics about the the top 5 small companies the staff are finding best to work for.

The top company considered was related to smallest staff number having only 56, with male to female ratio 30:70 and all staff are under 35s. Its staff turnover represented the lowset in the survey with only 5%. In addition the staff in high income bracket share was 34%.

The middle position were similar in staff numbers, where they had 79, 72, and 76 each respectively. The secnod position has fairly equal ratio of male to female members with 47:53, yet the 3rd and 4th positions had quite opposing percentages of 74:26 for 3rd, and 13:87 for 4th. The staff turnover was 18%, 8%, and 13% for each respectively, and there staff in high bracket shares were as follows: 48%, 74%, and 5%.

The 5th position had slightly different numbers. The staff numbers were noticeably higher with 190 members and 51:49 male to female ratio. 91% of staff were under 35s, and had the highest share of turnovers recording 33%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You report several relevant comparisons, including the first-ranked company’s 56 employees and lowest turnover, the contrasting gender ratios in third and fourth place, and the fifth-ranked company’s larger workforce and highest turnover. However, the overview is not clearly stated, and some important information is omitted or inaccurate. For example, the first company’s staff are not all under 35: 77% are under 35 and 0% are over 55. The fifth company’s under-35 figure is 93%, not 91%, and its high-income share of 2% is not reported. The age figures for the other companies and the high-income extremes (74% in third place versus 5% in fourth) could also help establish the main patterns. Select and summarise these features more accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: it moves from the top-ranked company to the middle three and then to fifth place, with paragraph breaks helping readers follow the comparisons. Linking expressions such as “In addition,” “yet,” and “and” also make relationships between details clear. This organisation is effective, though some cohesion is mechanical or unclear. For instance, “The middle position were similar in staff numbers” does not clearly identify the three companies, while “for each respectively” is redundant and makes the comparison less smooth. The final paragraph also introduces the fifth company without connecting it to the overall pattern. A concise overview followed by grouped comparisons, with clearer references to rankings, would make progression more purposeful.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing table data, including “ratio,” “staff turnover,” “high income bracket,” “noticeably higher,” and “opposing percentages.” These choices help communicate comparisons, and most meaning remains clear despite some inaccurate or awkward expressions. For example, “the staff are finding best to work for” is an unnatural way to describe the survey’s result, and “share of turnovers” does not accurately express the turnover rate. There are also spelling errors such as “survery,” “lowset,” and “secnod,” which reduce precision. Aim for standard data-reporting collocations and check spelling carefully; this would make your descriptions more natural and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more developed sentences, such as the sentence beginning “The middle position…” and the comparison using “yet.” The main information is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. In “The results shows,” the plural subject requires “show”; “the top 5 small companies the staff are finding best” has an unclear clause structure; and “The middle position were similar” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The phrase “all staff are under 35s” also uses an awkward construction, while “and had the highest share” leaves the subject unclear. Use complete, direct sentence patterns, check agreement, and make sure each pronoun or verb has an unmistakable subject.

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