Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-24

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 6.5)

The pie chart illustrates the proportion of anthropology graduates' employment status after finishing their undergraduate degree course from one university. The table shows the three types of anthropology employment salaries working after five years of period.

Overall, full-time working was by far the most common destinations after graduation. After five years, government employees and freelance consultants generally earned higher salary than those who are working for private companies, with government employees have the largest proportion in the highest salary.

In terms of graduate's destinations of anthropology, 52% of anthropology graduates work as Full-time work making the largest proportion of the graduates. A further 15% work part-time, while 12% were unemployed. Meanwhile, 8% of Part-time work, and part-time postgrad study workers was unknown. the smallest proportion, at 5% consisted of full-time postgraduate's study

Looking at salaries after five years, 80% of freelance consultants earned at least $75,000, with 40% earning between $75,000 and $99,999 and another 40% receiving $100,000 or more. Government employees had a similar overall pattern, although half earned at least $100,000. In comparison, only 55% of those working for private companies earned $75,000 or more. Private-sector employees were most commonly found in the $50,000 to $74,999 bracket, at 35%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main features of both the pie chart and the table. You provided a clear overview and supported your points with relevant data. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in your data reporting. For instance, you mentioned '8% of Part-time work, and part-time postgrad study workers was unknown', but the chart labels this as 'Part-time work' and 'Part-time postgrad study' separately, with 'Unknown' being a distinct category. Additionally, ensure you clearly distinguish between the categories to avoid confusion. Overall, you covered all parts of the task well, providing a good summary with relevant comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'In terms of', 'Meanwhile', and 'In comparison' to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two distinct data sets. The progression of ideas is clear, although some transitions could be smoother. For example, the sentence '8% of Part-time work, and part-time postgrad study workers was unknown' is slightly confusing due to the phrasing. Overall, the information is well-structured and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'destinations', and 'bracket' correctly. There are some minor issues with word choice and phrasing, such as 'working after five years of period' and 'graduate's destinations of anthropology', which sound slightly unnatural. You attempt to use a variety of descriptors, but some collocations could be more precise. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but increasing your use of more sophisticated academic collocations would help you reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are accurate, there are some recurring grammatical errors. For example, 'government employees have the largest proportion' should be 'government employees had the largest proportion' to maintain consistent tense. There are also minor errors in article usage and subject-verb agreement, such as 'only 55% of those working for private companies earned $75,000 or more'. Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the grammar does not impede communication.

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

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