Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-18
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 chart here shows Anthropology graduates from one university did after completing their undergraduate degree course. Moreover, the table presents the salaries of the Anthropologists in work after the period of five years.
To give the overview, pie chart shows the destination of Anthropology graduates from one university only. Here, majority of the graduates worked full- time. Moreover, minority graduates were part-timer or postgrad students. Other figures vary. The table shows the salaries of Antrhropology graduates after 5 year's work. Overall, freelancer consultants has the highest pay comparatively to private company employs.
After graduating, 52% of the Anthropology students worked full-time and after that comes part-time workers which were 15% of the total area. Then comes, unemployed graduates of 12%. Furthermore, unknowns and graduates who were full-time workers and also studying postgrad had the same percentage of 8%. Least percentage was of graduates who were part-timers and postgrad students.
After working for 5 years, graduates in the government sector and as freelance consultants generally earn higher salaries than those in private commpanies. Specifically, the government sector boasts the largest share of the top earners making $100,000+ at 50%, while freelancer have the highest concentration in the $75,000-$99,999 at 40%. In contrast, private companies have a larger proportion in lower salary ranges with 35% earning between $50,000-$74,999 and making 10% under $25,000-$49,999.
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 student addresses all parts of the task by reporting information from both the pie chart and the table. Key features are selected, such as the highest destination category (full-time work at 52%) and comparative salary trends across sectors. However, the overview is somewhat superficial and contains vague phrasing like 'Other figures vary.' While the main trends are identified, the development of some data points is slightly basic and could benefit from a more integrated comparison between the two graphics.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is arranged into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview paragraph, a detailed body paragraph for the chart, and a final body paragraph for the table. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore', 'In contrast', and 'Specifically', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical ('Then comes'). Paragraphing is appropriate, and there is a clear overall progression of ideas, supporting a coherent structure throughout.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully employing terms like 'destination', 'graduates', 'freelance consultants', and 'government sector'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'minority graduates were part-timer' instead of 'a minority of graduates worked part-time', and spelling/morphology slips like 'commpanies' and 'freelancer' instead of 'freelancers'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
A mix of simple and complex sentence structures is used throughout the response. The student successfully constructs some complex sentences, such as 'after working for 5 years, graduates in the government sector and as freelance consultants generally earn higher salaries than those in private companies.' However, grammatical errors occur, including missing prepositions, relative pronoun omissions, and incorrect subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'freelancer have' instead of 'freelancers have', and missing a preposition in 'earning between $50,000-$74,999 and making 10% under...'). These errors do not impede overall communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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