Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-31

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 what Anthropology students did after completing their degree and table gives information about their wages after five years of work done by them.

Overall, it is evident that majority graduates did full-time work job while very few individuals were interested in part-time work and postgrad study. Remaining was unemployed and some was not known. Anthropology who was associated with government sectors received half of their wages after five years of work while those who were associated with freelance consultants and private companies also received their salary but less than government sectors workers.

According to pie graph percentage of full-time workers was 52% recorded the highest figure. This ratio for part-time employees was 15% and 12% graduates were unemployed. Some other graduates were unknown.

Workers who were associated with government sectors received 50% of their wages after five years of work while, freelance consultants and graduates who was associated with private companies received 40% and 30% respectively of their salary

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, such as the highest percentage of full-time workers and the salary differences. However, the interpretation of the salary data is inaccurate. The student states that government sector workers received '50% of their wages', whereas the table likely indicates salary levels or proportions relative to a benchmark. Furthermore, the description of the data is somewhat mechanical and lacks a clear, analytical overview. While the main trends are identified, the lack of precision in interpreting the table data prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is limited and occasionally repetitive (e.g., 'while' is used frequently). Some transitions between sentences are abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the connection between the categories and the percentages is confusingly phrased. Improved use of linking words would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'work job' and 'wages after five years of work done by them'. The student relies on basic terminology and struggles with collocations related to data reporting. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is a lack of sophisticated or topic-specific language that would be expected for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('majority graduates did', 'Anthropology who was', 'graduates who was') and missing articles ('According to pie graph'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to demonstrate a lack of control over complex structures, keeping the score in the mid-range.

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

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