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 and table illustrate the percentage of graduate students, after completing the graduation, work in various occupation sectors and the range of salaries after 5 years of work.

Overall, nearly half of the graduate students are doing full-time work, whereas students who are doing part-time work and postgrad study are the smallest in overall percentages. On the other hand, after doing 5 years of work, majority of the graduates are incoming more than 100,000 dollars.

Compare to full-time work, which accounted for 52%, part-time work and both part-time work and postgrad study accounted for 15 % and 5%. Both full-time post grad study and graduate students who don't have the records are the same at exactly 8%.

Freelance, Government sectors and Private companies are least in salaries which ranges from 25,000 to 49,999 and the most range more than 100,000

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s main destination, noting that full-time work is the largest category at 52%, and correctly report the 15%, 5% and 8% figures. However, the overview is incomplete and the salary table is not meaningfully summarised: the claim that a “majority” earn over $100,000 is inaccurate, since this applies to 40% of freelance consultants, 50% of government employees and 30% of private-company workers. The final sentence gives no clear comparison across salary bands. Include the key contrasts—for example, government workers most often earn $100,000+, while private-company employees are most concentrated in the $50,000–74,999 band. The response is also 8 words below the required minimum. These omissions and the inaccurate generalisation leave important parts of the task only partially addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph on graduate destinations and a final attempt to discuss salaries. This helps the reader follow the broad topic. However, progression is limited because the salary paragraph is only one incomplete sentence, and the overview’s salary claim is not developed or supported. Some linking is also awkward: “On the other hand” suggests a contrast that is not clearly established, while “Compare to full-time work” does not form a clear comparison. Develop the table discussion into a complete paragraph, grouping salary bands or employment types, and use links such as “By contrast” only when the data supports a contrast. Clearer paragraph development would make the organisation more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “full-time work,” “postgrad study,” “salaries” and “sectors,” so the subject is generally clear. There is some attempt to vary expression, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “graduate students” for people who have completed their degrees, “incoming more than 100,000 dollars,” and “the most range.” “After completing the graduation” is also an awkward phrase. These choices make the salary information harder to interpret, especially in the final sentence. Prefer precise terms such as “graduates,” “earned,” and “salary band,” and name the relevant employment groups and amounts directly. More accurate collocations would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some more complex structures, including “whereas” in the overview and a comparison beginning “Compare to full-time work.” The main message is usually understandable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “the percentage of graduate students … work” has a mismatch between the noun phrase and verb, and “students who are doing” is an awkward tense choice for describing the chart. The final sentence, “Freelance, Government sectors and Private companies are least in salaries … and the most range,” is incomplete or poorly controlled, making the intended comparison unclear. Practise forming complete comparative sentences and checking subject–verb agreement, articles and plural forms. This would make your range more reliable.

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

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