Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-29
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 and the table chart below depicts the ratio and data about what the graduates from a particular university did after finishing their bachelors degree and the data about the salaries these undergraduates received after half a decade.
Overall, half of the portion is occupied by the individuals who worked full time. The rest of the portion is covered by the part-time, work and post-grad study simultaneously, umemployed and full time work with post-grad study. The data about the salaries comprises of 3 main employments with government sectors acing all of them.
To be specific, The ratio for full time workers covers half of the portion for about 52%. 15% of the anthropology graduates did part time work from one university. The smallest portion is occupied by the graduates who did part-time with postgrad study which is 5%. For about 12% of the part is covered by the umemployed pupils. Full time post grads were 8% and similar ratio of the destination was unknown.
Following this, The salaries after five years are described under three types of employments with Government sector covering the highest amount in the range of $100,000+ whilst the least of about 5% in the range of 25,000-49,999. The free lancers showed moderate ratio of 15% in the $50,000-99,999 range. The private companies gave for about half more than other sectors in the first range, these private companies showed the least amount of salaries.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features from both the pie chart and the table. An overview is attempted, noting that half of the graduates worked full-time and mentioning the three salary categories. Key data points are accurately identified, such as the 52% in full-time work and the 50% of government sector employees earning $100,000+. However, the overview lacks conciseness and clarity, and some details are slightly inaccurate or confusingly phrased, such as the description of private company salaries. While the main trends are highlighted, comparisons could be sharper and better integrated. Overall, the response addresses the prompt adequately, earning a band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organised into four paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, and separate body paragraphs for the chart and table. Logical progression is generally maintained, but cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive (e.g., 'Following this', 'To be specific'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'similar ratio of the destination was unknown'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different parts of the visual data. Overall, the essay flows reasonably well, though the use of cohesive markers lacks flexibility, placing it firmly at a band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'freelance consultants', 'government sector', and 'undergraduates'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'acing all of them', 'umemployed pupils', and 'free lancers showed moderate ratio'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'umemployed'. While communication is not impeded, these frequent minor lexical errors and lack of precision prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'The data about the salaries comprises of 3 main employments' (unnecessary preposition 'of') and 'The private companies gave for about half more than other sectors'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but subject-verb agreement and prepositional use errors occur throughout the text. Complex structures tend to be prone to errors. Consequently, a band 6.0 is appropriate for grammatical range and accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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