Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-29
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 illustrates the destination of Anthropology graduates (from one university) and the table demonstrates the salaries of Anthropology graduates after 5 years' work.
Overall, more than half students started full-time work after graduation compared with part-time working students containing 15% share. While part-time work + postgrad study and unemployed followed 5% and 12% respectively. In terms of full-time postgrad study and not known sector both holds the 8% of total proportion.
With regards to the salaries of students after 5 years' work, Freelance consultants recorded the highest percentage in salaries with 40% in each category of 75,000-99,999$ and more than 1 lakh dollars.
On the other hand, government sector holds the maximum share of students of 50% in 100,000+ salaries share. In contrast, Private companies offer low income and one third of students rely on 50,000-74,999 field.
Overall government sectors offer good salary package and half of the students earning above 1 lakh figure while private coompanies offer lowest income.While after graduation more than half students prefer full-time work.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by summarizing both the pie chart and the table. You successfully identified key features, such as the dominance of full-time work and the salary variations across sectors. However, the analysis is somewhat mechanical and lacks a cohesive synthesis of the data. For instance, the description of the salary table is slightly confusing, particularly the interpretation of the '1 lakh' figure and the percentages. To reach a higher band, ensure that comparisons are more precise and that the data points are clearly linked to the categories provided in the prompt, rather than just listing figures.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for each data set, and a summary. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'While', and 'In contrast', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly forced or repetitive. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'While part-time work + postgrad study and unemployed followed 5% and 12% respectively', where the connection to the previous sentence is weak. Improving the flow between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'demonstrates', and 'proportion'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing, such as '1 lakh dollars' (which is non-standard in international English contexts) and 'coompanies' (a spelling error). Additionally, the phrase 'each category of 75,000-99,999$ and more than 1 lakh dollars' is somewhat awkward. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring consistent terminology throughout the report.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'more than half students' (should be 'more than half of the students') and 'both holds the 8%' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor issues with spacing and capitalization, such as 'coompanies'. The control of grammar is sufficient to communicate the main points, but more error-free complex sentences are needed to move into the higher bands.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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