Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-06

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 6.0)

The chart illustrates what Anthropology graduates from one university did after finishing their undergraduate degree course and the table shows the salaries of the anthropologists in work after five years.

Overall, it is clear that majority of people accounted for full time work, while part time work and post grad study hold the smallest share.After five years, government-sector employees had the highest proportion of graduates earning $100,000 or more, while private-company employees were more concentrated in the middle salary ranges.

To begin with, 52% graduates entered full time work, whereas only 15% graduates accounted for part time work. However, 12% people after completing degree course remained unemployed. Full time postgrad study and not known after completion of degree both contributed for 8% each. Furthermore, only 5% graduates did part time wotk and postgrad study together.

Drawing attention to the rest of the data, freelance consultants had 40% of employees earning between $75,000 and $99,999, and another 40% earning $100,000 or more. In the government sector, 50% earned at least $100,000, the highest figure in the table. By comparison, only 30% of private-company employees reached this salary level, while 35% earned between $50,000 and $74,999. Only 5–10% of workers in each sector earned between $25,000 and $49,999.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by covering both the chart detailing graduate destinations and the table showing salaries after five years. A clear overview is presented in the second paragraph, highlighting the main trends such as the dominance of full-time work and the salary distribution in government sectors. Key features are selected and reported well, such as the 52 percent entering full-time work and the 50 percent of government-sector employees earning $100,000 or more. Comparisons are made where relevant, for instance, contrasting private-company employees with freelance consultants and government workers. While the main features are well-supported with data, some supporting details could have been extended further to fully explore all data points, preventing the response from reaching a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical structure that separates the introduction, overview, chart details, and table details. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related information. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or somewhat repetitive, particularly in how sentences are linked and initiated, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'Drawing attention to the rest of the data'. Referencing is generally clear, but the progression between certain sentences could be smoother to avoid a disjointed feel, reflecting a typical performance for this band level where cohesive devices are functional rather than flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying numerical data and trends. The student attempts less common vocabulary such as 'proportion', 'concentrated', 'freelance consultants', and 'government sector' with moderate success. However, there are minor lexical inaccuracies, such as the typo 'wotk' instead of 'work' in the third paragraph, and occasional awkward collocations or word choices. The range is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, but the presence of these minor errors and the reliance on fairly standard reporting language prevent a higher rating.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. There are several error-free sentences, such as 'After five years, government-sector employees had the highest proportion of graduates earning $100,000 or more'. However, minor grammatical and structural errors persist, such as missing articles ('majority of people accounted for full time work' should include 'the majority' and 'full-time work') and minor preposition or punctuation slips. These errors rarely impede communication, but they indicate that control over complex structures is not yet fully consistent.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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