Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-27
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 5.0)
The chart illustrates the destination of anthropology graduates from one university after finishing their undergraduate degree course. The table represents the anthropologists salaries in work after five years.
Overall, it is evident that the main destination of anthropology graduates was to get full time employment. Furthermore, the employees of the government sector get well-paid salaries after five years work.
In the pie chart, the destination of anthropology graduates from one university was full time work followed by part time work and unemployed accounted for 52%, 15% and 12% respectively. The proportion of graduates whose destination was part time job and full time postgrad study was 5% and 8% respectively.
On the other hand, after five years work the employees of freelance consultants and the government sector received $25,000-$49,999 salaries accounted for 5%. Moreover, the proportion of employees in the government sector who received $[redacted phone]+ salaries was 50% followed by freelance consultants and private companies accounted for 40% and 30% respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both the chart and the table, providing an overview and some specific data points. However, the reporting of data is inaccurate in several places. For example, you state that 52% were in full-time work, but the chart shows 52% for full-time work, 15% for part-time, and 12% for unemployed, which is correct; however, your interpretation of the salary table is problematic. You claim 50% of government employees earn $1000.000+, which is a misreading of the data. Furthermore, the comparison between categories is weak. To improve, ensure you carefully verify the figures against the visual data and focus on highlighting the most significant trends rather than listing every percentage.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs for the chart and table respectively. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by the inaccurate data reporting. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to show contrast or addition more naturally. The paragraphing is appropriate for an IELTS Task 1 response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, using terms like 'destination', 'proportion', and 'freelance consultants'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, 'the employees of the government sector get well-paid salaries' is slightly unnatural; 'government employees earn high salaries' would be better. Additionally, there are errors in numerical representation, such as '$1000.000+', which is confusing. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise vocabulary to describe trends and avoid repetitive phrasing when discussing percentages and figures.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the anthropologists salaries' (missing possessive apostrophe) and 'after five years work' (should be 'after five years of work'). Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'the destination of anthropology graduates... was full time work'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement and correct punctuation will help improve this score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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