Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-07

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)

52% anthropoogy graduates from a university worked full time, 15% worked part-time, there were 12% percent unemployed, 8 percent went for full time postgrad study, 5 percent were those who did part-time work and did their postgrad study too. There are 8 percent such graduates about whom it can't be confirmed what they did.

The salaries of these varied widley according to their type of employment such as freelance consultants, government sector and private companies. 5 percent of freelance consultants had salary range from $25,000 to 49,999, 15% had from $50,000 to 74,999, 40% has from $75,000 to 99,999 and there were 40% freelance consultants having $100,000 plus salary.

In government sectors, 5% had salary range the same as that of 5% of freelance consultants, 15% had also the same salary range as that of 15% of freelance consultants, while 30% had salary range fro $75,000 to 99,999 and 50% were such whom salary was $100,000 plus.

10% of graduates who worked in private companies had salary range of $25,000 to 49,999, 35% had salary range from $50,000 to 74,999, and 25% had $75,000 to 99,999 while 30% had $100,000+ salary.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You report most of the chart and table figures accurately, including the largest destination group (52% in full-time work) and the salary distributions for all three employment types. However, the response mainly lists figures rather than selecting and highlighting the main features. It lacks a clear overview of the key patterns—for example, that full-time work was the most common destination, while government employees had the highest share in the top salary band and private-company employees were more concentrated in the $50,000–74,999 band. The opening also gives the destinations as a sequence without drawing out their relative importance. Add a concise overview and make the most meaningful comparisons to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged in a generally understandable order: it first covers graduate destinations, then discusses salaries by employment type. This gives the reader a coherent overall structure, and phrases such as “In government sectors” and “while” help signal transitions and comparisons. However, the salary section is largely a series of similar percentage statements, so the progression feels mechanical rather than analytical. Some references, such as “the same salary range as that of 5% of freelance consultants,” make the reader work to connect the figures. Grouping the salary information around contrasts—especially the top band and the private-company middle band—would improve flow. A separate overview paragraph would also make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “full-time,” “postgrad study,” “salary range,” and “freelance consultants,” so the information is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices or spelling errors reduce precision: “varied widley” is misspelled and awkward, while “had salary range” is repeated instead of using more natural reporting language. “There were 40% freelance consultants having” is also an unnatural construction. Use accurate collocations such as “earned,” “accounted for,” and “the proportion in the highest salary band.” Check spelling carefully, including “anthropology” and “widely,” and avoid repeating the same wording for every figure.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates the main figures, but grammatical control is uneven, and many sentences rely on similar simple reporting patterns. Some longer constructions are attempted, such as “while 30% had salary range…,” but errors recur in articles, verb forms, and sentence structure. For example, “40% has from $75,000 to 99,999” should use “had” to maintain past-tense reporting, and “had salary range” needs an article (“had a salary range”). The opening sentence is also a fragment-like sequence of clauses joined mainly by commas. Practise forming complete sentences with consistent past tense, accurate articles, and varied comparison structures; this will make the data easier to follow.

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

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