Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-22

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-charts deplicts the information abouthe destination of Anthropology graduate from one university after completing their undergraduate degree coure and the sum of salaries they they earn in work arter five years.The figure given data in percentage for m.

Overall , It clear that the full-time work was the most common destination for Anthropology graduates , according for just over half of the total .In constrast , the smallest proportion went into an unspecified category.The salary information also shows differences between the various types of employment.

According to the pie chart , 52% of Anthropology graduates entred full time emplyment making this by far the largest category.A further 12% chose to continue their educatioon on the full - time basis .Meanwhile 8% of graduates were engaged in full-time postgraduate study and another 8 % engaged in non-work.the remaining proportion consisted of graduates who follow part-time work plus postgraduated study.

In terms of employment after five years , the table compare the salaries earn by antropologist in different sectors. The freelance consultants had a relatively high income , with 40% earning between $75000 and $99999 and another 40 % earning $[redacted phone] or more .Government employees had the largest proportion in the highest salary category , at 50% , While 30% earned $75000 - $99999 .By comparison , private company employees were more concentrated in the middle-income ranges : 35 % earned $50000-$74999 , while 25% rfecieved $75000 - $99999.Only 30% of private-company employees earned at least $[redacted phone].

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features from both the chart and the table. An overview is provided, highlighting the most common destination for graduates and noting that salaries vary by employment sector. Key data points are correctly reported, such as 52% entering full-time employment and the breakdown of salaries for freelance consultants and government employees. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting the categories from the chart, such as confusing part-time work with non-work or full-time postgraduate study figures. Despite these minor lapses, the main trends and comparisons are adequately addressed, satisfying the criteria for Band 6.5, rounded to 6.0 based on the minor confusion in data reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall progression and is divided into logical paragraphs covering the introduction, overview, chart details, and table details. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas (e.g., 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'Meanwhile', 'In terms of employment'), although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different parts of the visual data. Referencing is mostly clear, though some phrasing is repetitive. The organizational structure is coherent and allows the reader to follow the main points easily, placing it comfortably in the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'proportion', 'destination', 'consultants', and 'sector'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text (e.g., 'deplicts', 'graduate', 'coure', 'arter', 'entred', 'emplyment', 'educatioon', 'rfecieved', 'antropologist'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, their frequency prevents the lexical score from reaching Band 6.0. The vocabulary is minimally adequate for conveying the data, but control over spelling and word forms needs significant improvement.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures (e.g., relative clauses and comparative structures). However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, including missing articles, subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'The freelance consultants had... The freelance consultants...'), missing spaces after punctuation marks, and awkward phrasing ('the sum of salaries they they earn in work arter five years'). While these errors rarely completely impede understanding, they occur with enough frequency to restrict the score to Band 5.5. Better control over basic syntax and proofreading is required.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.