Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-08
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 proportion of Anthropology students after completing their degree, while table displays the income of the anthropologist in work in next fiver years.
Overall, it is evident that the majority of graduates doing full-time work after finishing their degree, their figure more than half. The percentage of part-time and plus postgraduates study was the lowest share. Salaries of Anthropology graduates increased throughout the period.
It is clearly seen in diagram that the students who graduated from university accounted for 52% in the full-time work, followed by 15% doing part-time work. Furthermore, the figures for unemployed made up of 12% of the graduates. Although, not known and full-time postgraduate students both accounted for 8%. The part-time work plus postgraduate stood at 5%.
In addition, the income of freelance consultants significantly grew over the years from around 15% to 40%. Moreover, the government workers salaries also boosted up between 15% to 50% that makes 50,000 to 100,000+. In private companies the percentage fluctuated by 10% to 30% in five years.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of the data, including the employment status of graduates and the salary trends. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the interpretation of the data. For instance, you describe the salary trends as '15% to 40%' and '15% to 50%', which misinterprets the data labels (which represent salary brackets in thousands, not percentages). Furthermore, the statement 'the figures for unemployed made up of 12%' is a misreading of the chart, which labels this category as 'unemployed'. While you attempt to report the main features, the misinterpretation of the data labels significantly impacts the accuracy of the summary.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'their figure more than half' and 'the figures for unemployed made up of 12%'. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal cohesion within sentences is occasionally mechanical or unclear, which prevents a higher score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there is a lack of precision. You use terms like 'boosted up' and 'made up of', which are slightly informal or imprecise. There are also errors in word choice, such as referring to the salary brackets as percentages. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, the frequent misinterpretation of the data labels limits the effectiveness of your lexical range. To improve, focus on using more precise verbs to describe trends, such as 'increased', 'rose', or 'fluctuated'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'while table displays' (missing article), 'in next fiver years' (incorrect preposition and spelling), and 'government workers salaries also boosted up' (missing possessive apostrophe). Additionally, 'the majority of graduates doing full-time work' is a sentence fragment as it lacks a main verb. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable throughout the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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