Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-21
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 5.0)
The chart represents destations of Anthropology graduates. It shows the percentage of what anthropology graduates did after completing their degree course.
It includes the percentage of graduates who do full-time work, part-time work, part-time work + postgrad study, full-time postgrad study, unimployed, and not known.
Majority of them are doing full-time work, to be exact, 52% graduates went for full-time work. 15% graduates are doing part-time work however, 5% are those who also study while working part-time. The percentage of graduates who went for full-time postgrad study is 8%. while 12% are unemployed and 8% and not known.
The table below shows salaries of anthropology graduates (after 5 years' work). The type of employment they went for includes Freelancing consultants, goverment sector, and private companies.
Government sector is paying 50% employes more than $100,000, which is highest than other two types of emplyements. On second, 40% freelance consultants
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to summarise the visual data by describing the pie chart and the table. However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, standing at 148 words, which leads to a necessary penalty under Task Achievement. Furthermore, the description is incomplete as the response trails off abruptly at the end ('On second, 40% freelance consultants') and completely omits the salary data for the lowest brackets and the private company sector comparisons. While key features such as the 52% in full-time work are mentioned, the lack of a proper overview and the unfinished nature of the second paragraph prevent the response from achieving higher than a Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is divided into two brief paragraphs representing the two visual prompts. However, the overall progression is severely disrupted because the second paragraph ends mid-sentence without concluding the comparison of salaries. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, such as 'The chart represents...', 'It includes...', and 'The table below shows...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the abrupt ending demonstrates inadequate control over structural cohesion. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a cohesive conclusion limits the text to a Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses a limited range of vocabulary relevant to the topic, such as 'anthropology graduates', 'full-time work', 'unemployed', and 'government sector'. There are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'destations' instead of 'destinations', 'unimployed' instead of 'unemployed', 'employes' instead of 'employees', and 'emplyements' instead of 'employments'. While the core message is mostly understandable, these inaccuracies and the lack of sophisticated or less common lexical items restrict the vocabulary score to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The percentage of graduates who went for full-time postgrad study is 8% while 12% are unemployed...'. However, grammatical control is weak, with several errors including punctuation and missing articles or prepositions (e.g., 'Majority of them' instead of 'The majority of them', 'highest than other two types' instead of 'higher than the other two types'). The unfinished final sentence further impacts grammatical completion. Overall, the frequency of errors places this at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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