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 presents the students who graduated Anthropology from one educational institution and what they did after completing undergraduate degree course. while, the table illustrates the salaries after five years of work.

Overall, it is clear that full time work made up the highest proportion throughout the chart. whereas, part time work and postgrad study saw the lowest percentage. The table shows that graduates working in the government sector and freelance consultants earned higher salaries than those in private companies.

Looking at the chartin more detail we can see that full most of students doing full time work which saw the largest percentage in 52%, whereas the figure for part time work almost 15%. In contrast, part time work and postgrad study saw the lowest proportion about 5%.

Moreover, graduated students who working in the freelance consultants accounted for the highest income, approximately 40% and government sector around 50% respectively. while, private companies made the lowest salaries around 10%-30%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main destination clearly: full-time work is the largest category at 52%, and you also note that part-time work combined with postgraduate study is the smallest at 5%. The overview makes a relevant comparison between earnings in government and freelance work and those in private companies. However, coverage of the chart is incomplete: the other destinations, including unemployment (12%) and full-time postgraduate study (8%), are not reported. The salary discussion is also unclear and selective. The figures of 40% for freelance consultants and 50% for government refer specifically to the highest salary band, but this is not stated, and the private-company range is compressed into “10%-30%.” Report the salary bands explicitly and compare the distributions more accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to details, so the reader can follow its general direction. You also use contrast markers such as “whereas” and “In contrast” to connect comparisons. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph combines salary information without clearly organising it by employment type or salary band. Some linking is mechanical or incorrectly punctuated: “Overall … whereas” and “Moreover … while” create awkward sentence boundaries. The chart details would be clearer in a paragraph covering all graduate destinations, followed by a separate paragraph comparing salary distributions. Use linking words only where the relationship between complete ideas is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “postgrad study,” and “earned higher salaries,” and the reader can generally understand the intended comparisons. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “students who graduated Anthropology,” “the highest income,” and “made the lowest salaries.” “Throughout the chart” is also not a natural way to describe a single set of destination figures. These choices make parts of the report imprecise, particularly the salary comparison. Aim for standard report language such as “graduates who studied anthropology,” “the highest salary band,” and “earned lower salaries,” and use precise terms for the categories and proportions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “whereas” and “which,” but control is inconsistent. Errors include the missing article in “after completing undergraduate degree course,” the incomplete construction “students doing full time work which saw,” and “graduated students who working,” where the verb form is missing. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also unreliable: “while” and “whereas” are sometimes placed after full stops or used to join fragments, and the opening “while” after the first sentence should not begin a new sentence in this way. These problems sometimes make the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise complete clauses, accurate verb forms, and punctuation around contrast clauses.

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

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