Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-28

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 compares different kinds of destination of Anthropology graduates from a specific university after completing their bachelor degree courses. While the table delineates the salaries of Anthropology students after five years of working experience.

Overall it is quite evident from the given pie chart that more than half of proportion of the job market occupied by full-time workers and rest of the figure consumed by other categories. Moreover, salaries in freelancing sector was considerably high as compared to private companies for Anthropology graduates.

In pie chart, Anthropology graduates working as a full-time worker was significantly high at 52%, while part-time worker accounted for 15%. Consequently, the unemployment ratio is recorded of around 12%, whereas approximately 8% of data was still unknown. Additionally, full-time postgraduate study has been accounted for just 8%, similarly, part-time work plus postgraduate study students are only 5% from one university.

Salaries of these graduates on distinct kinds of employment, about 40% of Anthropology graduates who working as a freelancing earn between $75,000 and $100,000 or more, while only 5% worker salary was around $25,000 to $49,000. Moreover, approximately 50% graduates who work in a government sector earn more than $100,000, whereas 15% students salary was from 50,000 to 74,000 dollars. Furthermore, private companies employees are considerable balance earning abound 35% worker earn between 25,000 and 74,000 dollars, and only 10% workers salaries were below $49,000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features from both the pie chart and the table. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the dominant status of full-time work and general salary trends. Key figures, such as the 52% in full-time work and the salary distributions across sectors, are accurately selected and compared. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise or misphrase certain data points, such as stating that 'approximately 50% graduates who work in a government sector earn more than $100,000' (the chart actually shows $100,000+ is 50% for government, but phrasing could be tighter). Overall, the information is well-reported and directly answers the prompt requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is logically organised into four paragraphs, following a clear introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs dedicated to the chart and table respectively. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Moreover', 'Consequently', and 'Additionally'. However, paragraphing and logical progression occasionally feel a bit mechanical or disjointed, particularly in the opening where the second sentence is a fragment beginning with 'While the table delineates...'. Referencing could also be smoother, but overall the arrangement maintains a coherent flow of information throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'delineates', 'proportion', 'unemployment ratio', and 'distinct kinds of employment'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'what kinds of destination', 'full-time worker was significantly high' (referring to a percentage rather than a person), and 'private companies employees are considerable balance earning abound 35%'. These lexical inaccuracies do not impede communication, but they restrict the score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures with varying degrees of success. While there are some correct complex constructions, numerous grammatical errors persist throughout the text. Examples include fragment sentences ('While the table delineates...'), subject-verb agreement issues ('graduates who working', 'worker salary was', 'students salary was'), and prepositions ('earn in a government sector'). Despite these frequent errors, the meaning remains mostly clear to the reader, aligning well with the Band 5 to 6 threshold.

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

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