Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-30
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 illustrates the proportion about the destination of Anthropology students after graduating from a university, while the table chart depicts the salaries which the graduates are receiving after five years' work, units measured in percentage.
Overall, although all categories experienced changes over the given period. The most noticeable trend was that full time remained the most preferable destination for graduates alongside high earning salaries in government sector.
In the pie chart, full time work accounted for the largest proportion at 52% for university graduates, followed by part-time work at 15%, while unemployment remained at 12% for graduate individuals. It is also noteworthy that a similar percentage ratio is observed in full-time postgrad study and the part which is not known. By contrast, part-time work with postgrad study had the lowest figures at just 8%.
Turning to table chart, a similar pattern can be observed as the Individuals that have the salaries of about 100,000 dollars are about 50% in government sector, followed by freelance consultants at 40%, and the private companies had the lowest figures at just 30%. whereas, the people who have experience the employment are the freelance consultants, while the least employment ratio were for those Anthropology graduated citizens who worked in private companies.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student covers both the pie chart and the table, selecting key features such as the dominant position of full-time work (52%) and the high earners in the government sector (50% earning $100,000+). However, there are some inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the data. For instance, the student states that part-time work with postgraduate study had the lowest figures at just 8%, whereas the data shows this category was 5% (with full-time postgrad study at 8%). Furthermore, the final sentence contains confused claims about the table data that do not accurately reflect the figures for freelance consultants and private companies. Consequently, the task is addressed only partially, leading to a band score of 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized into paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, moving to an overview, and then detailing the charts. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader ('Overall', 'In the pie chart', 'Turning to table chart'), though some linking is clumsy or grammatically awkward, such as 'whereas, the people who have experience the employment'. Paragraphing is logical, separating the overall summary and the two charts. Progression is occasionally hindered by confusing sentence structures in the final paragraph, but an overall logical arrangement is maintained, justifying a score of 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for task 1, such as 'proportion', 'destinations', 'salaries', and 'accounted for'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward collocations. For example, the student writes 'table chart' instead of simply 'table', 'high earning salaries', and 'Anthropology graduated citizens'. There are also phrasing errors like 'the people who have experience the employment'. The vocabulary range is adequate to convey basic ideas, but noticeable errors and unnatural word choices keep this at a band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the concessive opening clause ('while the table chart depicts...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are numerous errors including fragment sentences ('The most noticeable trend was that full time remained... alongside high earning salaries'), prepositional errors ('proportion about', 'salaries in government sector'), and faulty subject-verb agreement or clause structures in the final paragraph ('the individuals that have the salaries of about 100,000 dollars are about 50% in government sector'). These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, fitting the descriptor for band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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