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 show what antropology graduates from one university did after competing their undergraduate degree. The table gives inforamtion about their salaries after five years of work.
Overall, the largest number of graduates went into full time work. Also, after five years, most anthropology graduates earned between $25000 and $74999.
According to the pie chart, 53% of graduates got full time jobs. 15% work part time. While, 8% continue their postgraduates studies. Another 12% were unemployed. 5% worked part time and studied at the same time and the remaining 8% had other destinations.
The table shows that salaries were different according to the type of employment. Among government employees 50% earned between $25,000 and $49,999, while, 30% earned $50,000 - $74,999. In private companies the number were more evenly spread across the salary groups. Self-employed consultants also had a high percentage in the $50,000 - $74,999 accordingly.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of both the pie chart and the table, selecting key data points such as the 53% in full-time work and the salary distributions across employment types. Comparisons are made where relevant, such as noting how salaries differed by type of employment. However, there are some minor omissions, and the overview could be slightly more extended. Furthermore, as noted in the length check, the response contains 148 words, narrowly missing the 150-word minimum requirement. This negative constraint violation requires a slight penalty to the task achievement score. Therefore, it fits best at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, an overall summary paragraph, a body paragraph dedicated to the pie chart data, and a final paragraph focusing on the table. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Overall,' 'According to the pie chart,' and 'The table shows that.' However, the progression is slightly mechanical in places, and referencing can feel repetitive. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the response, demonstrating an overall coherent arrangement that aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'undergraduate degree,' 'unemployed,' 'government employees,' and 'self-employed consultants.' However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, including 'antropology' instead of 'anthropology,' 'competing' instead of 'completing,' and 'inforamtion' instead of 'information.' Additionally, the phrase 'the number were more evenly spread' contains a subject-verb agreement error. These errors do not seriously impede communication, reflecting a typical Band 6 lexical profile.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like 'While, 8% continue their postgraduates studies' and 'Among government employees 50% earned between $25,000 and $49,999, while, 30% earned $50,000 - $74,999.' Grammatical accuracy is mixed; there are punctuation and tense inconsistencies, such as mixing present tenses in the pie chart section with past tenses, as well as comma splices ('While, 8%...'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is rarely impeded. This performance corresponds to a Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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