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 chart illustrates the professions of the Anthropology graduates from one university after completing their course of undergraduate degree and the table displays the wages of the anthropologists in professions after a period of five years.
Overall, the highest portion of undergraduate students engage in full-time work, at 52% and the lowest portion of them go for part-time work along with postgrade study.
Regarding the salaries of anthropologists after five years of work, the highest salary of [redacted phone]+ dollar is coming from the government sectors, accounting for 50% and the lowest percentage is from both the sector of freelance consultants and government sectors ([redacted phone]9 dollar), at 5% for of them.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of both the chart and the table, noting that full-time work is the most common destination and identifying key salary brackets, such as the 50% in government sectors earning $100,000+. However, there are some inaccuracies in the details; for instance, the student states that the lowest salary percentage for freelance consultants and government sectors is 5%, whereas the table shows 5% for the $25,000-$49,999 bracket, but the student misquotes this later as the '25000-49999 dollar' bracket while confusing it with other figures. Furthermore, the response is significantly under-length at 110 words, failing to reach the minimum 150-word requirement. This severely limits the breadth and depth of the overview and comparisons, resulting in a band score of 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is divided into a brief introduction and two short body paragraphs representing an overall summary and detailed points. However, the paragraphing is underdeveloped due to the overall short length of the text. Cohesive devices are minimal, relying on basic connectors like 'Overall' and 'Regarding'. The progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed because data points are introduced abruptly without sufficient transitional links. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of extended writing prevents a more sophisticated arrangement of information. Overall, the organization is basic but manageable, aligning with a band 5.5 descriptor.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts some task-specific vocabulary such as 'professions', 'undergraduate degree', 'freelance consultants', and 'government sectors'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'postgrade study' instead of postgraduate study, 'dollar is coming' instead of salaries or earnings, and 'for of them' instead of both of them. The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive, which restricts the potential score. While meaning is generally conveyed despite these errors, the precision required for higher bands is absent, leading to a band score of 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The chart illustrates the professions...' and 'Regarding the salaries... the highest salary... is coming from...'. There are several grammatical inaccuracies and awkward prepositions, including 'professions of the Anthropology graduates' (destinations or employment status would be more accurate), 'course of undergraduate degree' (undergraduate degree course), and '100000+ dollar' (plural or noun phrasing needed). Punctuation is mostly acceptable, but the density of minor phrasing and agreement errors within a short text keeps the score at 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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