Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows what Anthropology graduates from one university did after finishing their undergraduate degree course. The table shows the salaries of the anthropologists in work after five years.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparison where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

THIS CHART ILLUSTRATES WHAT ANTHROPOLOGY GRADUATES PERSUED AT THE END OF THEIR DEGREE AND THEIR SALARY COMPENSATION AFTER 5 YEARYS OF COMPLETING UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES.

OVERALL, HIGHEST PROPORTION OF GRADUATE STUDENT STARTED THEIR FULL TIME CAREER WHERE AS LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF THOSE WHO PERSUED MASTER DEGREE AND PARTIME WORK TOGETHER WHEREAS AFTER 5 YEAR OF DEGREE COMPLETION , MAJORITY OF GRADUATES STARTED EARNING 6 FIGURE SALARY WHILE NEGLICIBLE AMOUNT OF RATIO WAS UNDER 25 TO 50 THOUSAND DOLLARS

52% OF STUDENT MADE THEIR CAREER FULL-TIME WORK. FURTHERMORE 15% STARTED PART TIME JOBS WHERE AS 12% WERE UNEMPLOYED. RATIO OF STUDENT'S WITH NO INFORMATION REGARDING THEIR CAREER AND WHO PERSUED FULL TIME POSTGRAD CONTRIBUTES 8% EACH TO THE TOTAL. ON THE OTHER HAND 5% WERE THOSE WHO COMBINED PARTIME WORK WITH MASTER'S DEGREE.

IN RESPECT OF SALARIES FREELANCE CONSULTANT'S 40% PROPRTION EARN MORE THAN 100K AND ARE THOSE WHO EARN BETWEEN 75 TO 100K WHEREAS 5% EARN IN BETWEEN 25 TO 50K AND 15% EARN BETWEEN 50 TO 75K. 5% OF GOVT EMPLOYEE AND 10% OF PRIVATE SECTOR EARN 25 TO 50K WHILE 15 AND 35% ARE THOSE WHO ARE LESS THAN 75K AND 30 TO 25%

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main destination as full-time work and include several relevant percentages, including 52%, 15%, 12% and 5%. The overview also attempts to compare graduate destinations with later salaries. However, the salary overview is inaccurate: the largest share earning $100,000 or more is in government (50%), not a general majority of graduates, and the lowest salary band is not negligible across all sectors. The final sentence is incomplete and gives unclear or incorrect comparisons, especially “30 to 25%”; it does not report the remaining salary distributions accurately. The response therefore covers the charts only partially, with important features underdeveloped. To improve, give a clear overview of both visuals and compare the salary bands systematically for each employment type.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an introduction, an overview, destination figures and then salary information. This gives the reader some sense of how the task is organised. However, progression is weakened by long, crowded sentences and unclear links between ideas. For example, the overview combines graduate destinations and salary findings without clearly separating the two, while “15 and 35% are those who are less than 75K and 30 to 25%” is difficult to follow. Connectors such as “Furthermore,” “whereas” and “On the other hand” are used, but some do not clarify the relationship between the figures. Use separate paragraphs for the two visuals and group salary comparisons by sector, with each comparison stated in a complete sentence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “unemployed,” “full-time postgrad” and “salary compensation.” Some choices are appropriate, but inaccurate spelling and word forms are frequent enough to distract, as in “persued,” “yearys,” “negligible” (written “negligible” incorrectly as “negligible” is not the issue; the text has “negligible” misspelled as “negligible” in context), and “proprtion.” Several phrases are also unnatural or imprecise: “made their career full-time work” and “ratio of students” do not express the data naturally. Prefer standard chart language such as “worked full-time,” “accounted for,” and “salary band.” More accurate spelling and collocations would make the information easier to understand and show more control of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine information using clauses with “whereas” and “while,” and you include both simple statements and longer sentences. However, the longer structures are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “highest proportion of graduate student started” has problems with the noun phrase and verb agreement, while “5% were those who combined partime work with master's degree” is awkwardly structured and lacks a clear article. The final sentence is also incomplete, leaving the comparison unfinished. Use shorter, complete sentences first, checking subject–verb agreement and articles, then add one clear comparison clause where useful. Consistent punctuation and sentence boundaries would also improve readability.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.