Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-21
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 and table charts illustrate the information about Anthropology student studied degree from one university and how much they earn after graduation according to different way of work. It is clearly seen that, the pie chart elucidates the percentage of graduates do six different categories work after completion of their degree from university, while table chart shows the salary of Anthropology graduates after five year's of work.
To commence with pie chart, Full-time work has dominated the half of the percentage, with 52%. Whereas, another five categories total ratio were about 48%, respectively.
Even though, moving towards the table graph, the salary of Anthropology employees who work as a freelance gradually increases over the after five year's. Moreover, $25,000-49,999 and $50,000-74,999 salaries figure were identical to each other for freelance and government sector whereas, for private companies their trend is quite different from another two categories, approximately 10%, 35%. However, all three distinct sectors holds 40%, 30%, 25%, each for $75,000-99,999. Lastly, government sector wages in last $100,000+ was almost a half , which is higher than that of other two sectors.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarize the data, but it fails to provide a clear overview of the main trends. While it identifies the largest category in the pie chart (full-time work), the description of the table is confusing and inaccurate. The student struggles to interpret the salary data, making vague statements like 'their trend is quite different' without clearly comparing the figures. Key features, such as the highest salary bracket for government employees, are mentioned, but the overall analysis lacks the precision required for a Band 6 or higher. The report is somewhat disjointed and does not effectively highlight the most significant comparisons between the sectors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or misused, such as 'To commence with pie chart' and 'Even though, moving towards the table graph,' which sound unnatural. Referencing is also problematic; for example, the phrase 'another five categories total ratio were about 48%, respectively' is unclear and grammatically awkward. While the paragraphing exists, the flow of information between sentences is frequently interrupted by confusing phrasing, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison of the data points.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic terms like 'work,' 'categories,' and 'salary.' There are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'Anthropology student studied degree' instead of 'Anthropology graduates' and 'wages in last $100,000+ was almost a half.' The attempt to use more complex vocabulary is hindered by a lack of precision, which occasionally obscures the meaning. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise reporting verbs and nouns related to data analysis, such as 'proportion,' 'sector,' and 'remuneration.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in articles ('the pie and table charts'), pluralization ('five year's of work'), and sentence construction ('all three distinct sectors holds 40%'). Some sentences are grammatically incomplete or poorly structured, such as 'government sector wages in last $100,000+ was almost a half.' While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors is high enough to cause some difficulty for the reader and prevents the writing from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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