Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-14

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 illustrate the propotion of the diffrent job roals that Anthropology graduates chose after the graduatation.The table provides data about the salaries of the anthropologists in work after five years.

Overall, it is noticed that Full time work contributes the higest amoungs all the shares.After the 5 years' work Government sector's employee earn the most.

Part time work is the second higest share and contribute 15 per cent to total followed by Unemployed worth 12 per cent.Full time postgrad study and Not known are two categories which has equal share of 8 per cent to the total shares. Only 5 per cent of students chose Part time work and postgrad study together after their undergraduate degree course.

Freelance consultants who earn between $ [redacted phone]9 and $ [redacted phone] plus both are 40 per cent, other 15 per cent earn between $ 50000- 74999 and jsut 5 per cent earn between $25000 - 49999. For Government sector first two brakets are same as freelance consultants but 10 per cent less fall down in third bracket but 50 per cent earn more then $ [redacted phone].

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well by reporting the main features from both the pie chart and the table. An overview is successfully provided in the second paragraph, stating that full-time work is the highest share and that government sector employees earn the most after five years. Key data points such as the proportions for part-time work (15%) and unemployment (12%) are accurately selected and reported. Comparisons are also effectively drawn in the final paragraph regarding salary brackets for freelance consultants and government sector workers. While the summary could be slightly more fully extended in terms of inter-category comparisons, it adequately addresses the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0. Given the positive marking criteria, the coverage of main features and trends warrants a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged with a clear overall structure, utilizing separate paragraphs for the introduction, overview, chart details, and table details respectively. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'After the 5 years' work', and 'followed by'. However, referencing and progression are sometimes mechanical or slightly disjointed, particularly in the final paragraph where multiple percentages and brackets are listed together without sufficient cohesive smoothing. Paragraphing is utilized, though the third and fourth paragraphs are relatively dense with data points. Overall, the organizational structure allows the reader to follow the main points easily, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'proportion', 'graduates', 'undergraduate degree course', and 'salaries'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'illustrate' instead of 'illustrates', 'propotion' instead of 'proportion', 'diffrent' instead of 'different', 'roals' instead of 'roles', 'graduatation' instead of 'graduation', 'higest' instead of 'highest', 'amoungs' instead of 'among', and 'jsut' instead of 'just'. These errors show that while the student attempts less common vocabulary and reports data accurately, lexical control is somewhat inconsistent, placing the response firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The pie chart illustrate...' and 'Freelance consultants who earn between $ 75000-99999 and $ 100000 plus both are 40 per cent...'. There are several grammatical errors and instances of faulty subject-verb agreement or awkward phrasing, such as 'The pie chart illustrate' (plural/singular mismatch), 'categories which has equal share' (should be 'have'), and punctuation issues around numbers and currency. Although these errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher score, they do not severely impede overall communication, as the intended meaning remains understandable to the reader. This performance aligns with the Band 5.5 criteria.

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

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