Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-12

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 depicts the proportion of Anthropology graduates about what they did after completing their undergraduate degrees, whereas the table presents data on income of Anthropology graduates after 5 year work as freelance consultants, government sector and private companies.

Overall, more than half of the graduates are involved in full-time work while only few proportion of them are involved in part-time work and postgrad study. Likewise regarding salaries, employees of government sector and freelance consultants are earning high amount than the employee of private companies.

Regarding the destination of Anthropology graduates, highest proportion of them that is 52% are engaging in full-time work, while other proportions are less than 20%. 15% of them are involved in part-time work, while 12 % of them are unemployed. The destination of 8% graduates are not known and same proportion of them are continuing full-time postgrad study. However, 5% of them are engaged in part time job plus postgrad study.

Salaries of the graduates are high in government sectors and frrelannce consultants. Employees of freelance companies and givernment sector are receiving ore than 40% and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main destination clearly: full-time work is the largest category at 52%, and you report the other graduate destinations with generally accurate figures. The overview also attempts to compare salary outcomes, but this part is incomplete and partly unclear. The table shows that government employees and freelance consultants have the highest shares in the top salary band, at 50% and 40% respectively; private-company employees are more concentrated in the $50,000–74,999 band. Your final sentence stops after “more than 40% and,” so the salary data are not adequately summarised or compared. To strengthen the response, complete this section and select key contrasts across all three employment types rather than making a broad claim that two groups earn more.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph on graduate destinations and a final paragraph intended to discuss salaries. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Regarding,” and “However” help signal shifts, although some connections are mechanical or do not clearly express the relationship between ideas. The salary paragraph is especially difficult to follow because it repeats the comparison from the overview and ends mid-sentence. Organise the table details into a complete comparison, for example by grouping the two higher-earning employment types and contrasting them with private companies. Clearer referencing and a finished final paragraph would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “proportion,” “undergraduate degrees,” “unemployed,” and “full-time postgrad study,” and you attempt to describe comparisons. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “involved in full-time work,” “high amount,” and “receiving ore than 40%.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “frrelannce” and “givernment,” which reduce the polish of the report. Use standard chart-reporting phrases such as “accounted for,” “were employed,” and “earned salaries of.” Be precise about what a percentage refers to: the table gives the proportion of workers in each salary band, not a percentage of salary itself.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a contrast in the opening sentence and longer comparisons in the overview. Meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “only few proportion” needs a determiner and a more suitable noun phrase, while “after 5 year work” requires a plural form and a clearer construction. In “The destination of 8% graduates are not known,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the phrasing around the percentage is incomplete. The final sentence is also unfinished, leaving its grammatical structure incomplete. Check articles, plural forms, and subject–verb agreement, and proofread each sentence to ensure it is complete before moving on.

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