Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The pie chart illustrates the destinations of Antropology graduates from one university after completing their undergraduate studies, while the table compare the salaries of thse who are employed in five year work later according to their work.

Overall, full-time employed was the most common destinations for graduates, whereas only small proportion combined part-time with postgraduate study. Aftr five years, freelance consultants and government employees generally earned higher salaries as compared to private company workers.

According to the pie chart, 52 percent of graduates obtained full-time jobs, making this the largest categories. Part-time employment accounted only 15 percent, while 8 percent of graduates employed both part-time work and postgraduate. An equal proportion pursued full-time postgraduate study. Meanwhile 12 percent are unemployed an remaining 5 percent had unknow destinations.

The table shows that freelance consultants and government employees tended to receive higher salaries after five years. In both sectors, 40 percent earned more than $100,000 annually, while 15 percent received salaries of $50,000 to $74,999. Furthermore, 40 percent of freelance consultants and 30 percent of government employees earned between $75,000 and $99,999. By contrast, salaries in the private sector were generally lower, with 35 percent earning $50,000 to $74,999 and only 30 percent receiving more than $100,000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the pie chart and the table. An appropriate overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting full-time work as the most common destination and noting salary differences between sectors. Key data points are accurately cited, such as 52 percent for full-time work and the salary breakdown for freelance consultants and government employees. Comparisons are made effectively between sectors, particularly regarding those earning over $100,000. However, there are minor typos in data reporting, such as stating that 8 percent of graduates employed both part-time work and postgraduate study, whereas the chart shows 5 percent. Despite these minor lapses, the response fully addresses the prompt requirements and meets Band 7 criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory paragraph containing an overview, followed by body paragraphs dedicated to the pie chart and the table respectively. Cohesive devices are used adequately to guide the reader through the data, with phrases like 'According to the pie chart', 'Meanwhile', and 'By contrast' establishing clear relationships between ideas. Paragraphing is logical and appropriate. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally slightly mechanical, and there are some minor cohesive slip-ups. Overall, the logical structure and clear organization support the flow of information well, aligning with the Band 7 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms relevant to academic data description such as 'destinations', 'undergraduate studies', 'proportion', 'annually', and 'sector'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, such as 'freelance consultants' and 'postgraduate study'. However, there are several spelling and word-form errors that detract from precision, including 'Antropology' instead of 'Anthropology', 'compare' instead of 'compares', 'thse' instead of 'those', 'categories' instead of 'category', 'unknow' instead of 'unknown', and 'employed' instead of 'embarked on' or 'combined'. Because these lexical errors occur with some frequency but do not impede overall communication, the performance fits the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures like 'while the table compare the salaries of thse who are employed...' and 'freelance consultants and government employees generally earned higher salaries as compared to private company workers'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'full-time employed was the most common destinations', 'while 8 percent of graduates employed both part-time work', and 'meanwhile 12 percent are unemployed an remaining 5 percent'. These errors in subject-verb agreement, article usage, and prepositions indicate limited control over complex structures, although meaning is rarely obscured. This performance is characteristic of Band 6.

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