Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-17

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 6.0)

The pie chart illustrates the proportion of designation of Anthropology graduates across six categories from one university, while the table provides the information of the salaries of Anthropology graduates after 5 years of experience.

Overall, full-time work graduates accounted for the largest proportion, while part-time work along with postgrad study represented the smallest share. In contrast, government sector had the highest proportion of employee earning more than 100,000 dollars, whereas the least number of employee earned between 25,000 and 49,999 dollars.

Regarding the designation of graduates, full-time graduates accounted for the highest proportion, at 52%. Additionally, part-time graduates represented at 15%, followed by unemployed graduates, at 12%. By comparison, full-time postgraduate and not known graduates represented the common figure, at 8% each. Similarly, only 5% were held by the part-time graduates along with postgraduate study.

Turning to salaries of the graduates after five years of experience in terms of employment. Freelance consultants had 5% of the employees earning between 25,000 and 49,999 dollars, while 15% employee earned between 50,000 and 74,999 dollars. While 40% of employees were earning between 75,000 and 99,999 dollars. This figure were constant for employees earning above 100,000 dollars. Government sector, on the other hand, had 5% of employees earning between 25,000 and 49,999 dollars, 15% employees between 50,000-74,999 dollars, and 30% between 75,000-99,999 dollars. Furthermore, 50% of the total employees were earning above 100,000 dollars. Nevertheless, private companies had 10% of employees earned between the range of 25,000-49,999 dollars, while 35% between 50,000-74,999 dollars, and 25% between 75,000-99,999 dollars. In addition 30% of the private companies employees earned more than 100,000 dollars.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task, providing a clear overview and selecting key features from both the pie chart and the table. You successfully identified the main trends, such as the dominance of full-time work and the high salaries in the government sector. However, there are some inaccuracies in data reporting; for instance, you mention 'part-time graduates' and 'part-time graduates along with postgraduate study' as separate categories, which misinterprets the chart labels. Additionally, the comparison between the sectors in the table could be more analytical rather than just listing percentages. Overall, the information is well-selected, but ensure data accuracy to reach higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Regarding', and 'Turning to' to guide the reader through the data. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the flow between the different salary ranges becomes repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two distinct data sets. To improve, focus on varying your linking phrases and ensuring that the progression of ideas feels more natural rather than just a list of statistics.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'designation', and 'illustrates' correctly. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'the common figure' (which is vague) and 'designation of graduates' (which is slightly misused in this context). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, but some phrasing feels a bit forced. To reach a higher band, focus on more precise collocations related to data description, such as 'accounted for a significant share' or 'the figures remained stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is generally effective. However, there are several grammatical errors that persist throughout the text, such as 'This figure were constant' (subject-verb agreement), '15% employee earned' (pluralization), and '5% were held by the part-time graduates' (awkward passive construction). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your sentence structures are grammatically sound when reporting complex data.

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

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