Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-10

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)

The pie chart illustrate the anthropology graduates from one university after finishing their undergraduate degree course. While, the table provides information of salaries of anthropologists in work after five years.

Overall, the largest proportion of anthropology graduates are full time work account for 52 per cent. While, in salaries office only government sector provide highest salaries to the fifty per cent of anthropology graduates upto 1 lac.

To begin with, the destination of part-time work takes around 15 per cent and the unemployment takes 12 per cent. On the other hand, not known and full-time postgrade study both are equally takes destination 8 per cent. Moreover, part-time + postgrade study takes only 5 per cent from whole destination.

In addiotion, freelance consultants takes $25,000 - 49,999 only 5% , $50,000 - 74,999 around 15 %, $75,000 - 99,999 around 40 % and 40 % touches $100,000+. Whereas, government sector takes $25k to 50k (5%), $50k to 75k (15%) , $75k to 1 lac (30%) and 100,000+ (50%). Finally, private companies takes $25k to 50k (10%) of anthgropology graduates, $50k to 75k (35%) , $75 to 1lac (25%) and 100,000+ only 30% of anthropology graduates.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both visuals and include the main destination figures, correctly identifying full-time work as the largest group at 52%, and reporting the salary distributions for all three employment types. The overview also attempts to highlight a key salary comparison. However, the claim that the government sector is the only one to provide the highest salaries to 50% is unclear: government employment has 50% in the $100,000+ band, while freelance consultants have 40% in that band and private companies 30%. The overview would be stronger if it clearly compared these top salary bands and summarised the main contrast between the charts. Some details, such as the destination categories, are reported more fully than the overall salary pattern.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph on graduate destinations, and a final paragraph on salaries. This makes the two visuals easy to distinguish, and phrases such as “To begin with,” “Moreover,” and “Finally” help signal progression. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “takes” and frequent use of “while” or “whereas” where a direct comparison would be clearer. The overview’s sentence beginning “While, in salaries office…” is incomplete in structure and makes the comparison difficult to follow. Grouping the salary figures into a clearer comparison—for example, contrasting the $100,000+ shares across the three sectors—would improve the flow and make the relationships between details more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “proportion,” “unemployment,” “freelance consultants,” and “government sector,” and the salary ranges are generally communicated clearly. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “salaries office,” “takes destination,” and “touches $100,000+.” There are also spelling errors, including “additotion,” “postgrade,” and “anthgropology,” which reduce precision. Repetition of “takes” and “anthropology graduates” limits the range of expression. Use standard chart-reporting language such as “accounted for,” “stood at,” and “earned,” and check spelling carefully. This would make the vocabulary more accurate and natural while retaining the relevant range already shown.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons introduced by “Whereas” and “On the other hand.” However, grammatical control is uneven, and several errors affect clarity. For example, “The pie chart illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the largest proportion … are full time work account for 52 per cent” combines incompatible sentence structures. “Not known and full-time postgrade study both are equally takes” also has problems with agreement and verb form. Some sentence boundaries and commas are awkward, particularly in the salary list. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use consistent past-tense reporting forms such as “accounted for” or “was.” More accurate control of these patterns would make the comparisons easier to understand.

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