Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The pie chart illustrates the path Anthropology graduates from a single university did after finishing their undergraduate degree course, while the table presents the earnings of anthropologists in employment after five years.

Overall, it is clear that full-time work was the main path most graduates pursued, whereas part-time work and postgraduate study was the least picked from the options. Moreover, most individual's were in the higher salaries bracket.

Looking at the details, full-time work accounted more than half of the graduates, having 52%, whereas the career that was the least pursued option was part-time work and postgraduate study, accounting only 5%. Furthermore, full-time postgrad study and not known both shared the same results, which was 8%. Part-time work and unemployed graduates had similar percentages, representing 15% and 12% respectively.

Moving to the table, the government sector and freelance consultants had similar percentages, with both having 5% in $25,000-49,999 and 15% in $50,000 - 74,999. However, the graduates earning between $75,000 - 99,999 were different, having 40% in freelance and 30% in government sector. The people earning more than $100,00 were 40% for freelance consultants and 50% for the government sector. People working in private companies had 10%, 35%, 25%, and 30% for each section respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task by summarizing both the pie chart and the table. Key features are successfully selected, such as noting that full-time work was the dominant destination for graduates at 52%, while part-time work combined with postgraduate study was the least common at 5%. Data is generally reported accurately, with appropriate comparisons drawn between sectors in the table regarding salary brackets. However, there is a minor grammatical slip in the opening sentence ('did' instead of 'pursued' or 'entered'), but overall, the information is well-selected and presented clearly, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organized logically into clear paragraphs, moving from an introduction and overview to specific details of the chart, and finally to the table data. Cohesive devices are used adequately to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'Looking at the details', and 'Moving to the table'. While referencing and progression are clear throughout, the cohesion occasionally feels slightly formulaic, keeping the response at a Band 7.0 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate and appropriate range of vocabulary for task description, successfully employing terms like 'accounted for', 'pursued', 'sector', and 'consultants'. There are minor lexical inaccuracies, such as referring to 'most individual's' instead of 'most individuals', and the slight misuse of 'path... did' in the introduction. Nonetheless, less common vocabulary items are attempted with reasonable success, and errors do not impede communication, fitting the Band 6.5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures effectively (e.g., 'whereas the career that was the least pursued option was...'). There are a few grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'most individual's were in the higher salaries bracket' (incorrect apostrophe and pluralization) and omitting the currency unit at the end of the table description ('earning more than $100,00'). However, frequent error-free sentences exist, warranting a Band 6.5.

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