Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The chart illustrates the salaries of anthropologists in the workforce after five years of an undergraduate degree course. It includes details about various work-time percentages of anthropology graduates.
The chart represents 52% of anthropology graduates working full-time, while 15% choose to work part-time. 12% are unemployed, 8% are in full-time postgraduate study, and the rest remain unknown. Graduates in part-time work and postgraduate study are 5%.
Overall, the chart shows graduates' priorities and mindset: most prioritize money, while a small number balance study and work, and these are the ones showing real spirit. Some choose to work part-time, and at same time, graduates are fully involved in postgraduate study, as they might find it difficult to balance both work and student life. An average number of students remain unemployed, and this can be due to several reasons, as they may not get job yet or have no interest in working.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The student partially addresses the task. While some data from the first chart regarding graduate destinations is reported (e.g., '52% of anthropology graduates working full-time, while 15% choose to work part-time'), the response completely fails to report the table data concerning salaries after five years, despite mentioning salaries in the opening sentence. Furthermore, the overview paragraph does not summarise the main trends of the visual data; instead, it provides personal commentary and subjective judgments such as 'most prioritize money' and 'these are the ones showing real spirit,' which are inappropriate for an academic task report. To achieve a higher band, the writer must report all parts of the prompt objectively without injecting personal opinions.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response has an overall structure consisting of an introduction, body details, and an 'overall' paragraph, but the logical progression is flawed. The transition from reporting figures to personal commentary in the final paragraph disrupts the cohesion of an academic report. While basic cohesive devices and referencing (such as 'while', 'while a small number', and 'these are the ones') are attempted, referencing becomes unclear in places, and paragraphing is underdeveloped due to the blending of data reporting with subjective evaluation. Clearer separation of main features and more precise signposting are needed to improve the flow and structure.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the precision, flexibility, and range expected for Academic Task 1. The student successfully uses basic terms related to employment ('full-time work', 'part-time work', 'unemployed'), but attempts at more sophisticated vocabulary are limited or imprecise. Phrases like 'showing real spirit' and 'prioritize money' are overly informal and unsuitable for an academic register. There are also minor lexical lapses, such as 'get job' (missing an article), which show occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The chart represents 52% of anthropology graduates working full-time, while 15% choose to work part-time.' However, grammatical errors are frequent enough to cause some distraction, including missing articles ('get job' instead of 'get a job') and awkward phrasing ('at same time'). Punctuation has occasional minor issues, such as double spacing before 'same time'. While the majority of simple sentences are accurate, attempts at more complex structures introduce errors that prevent the grammar score from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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