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)

The given pie chart illustrates Anthropology students and their destination from one university. While the table gives information of the salary which Anthropology graduates earned after five years' work. The whole data is in percentage.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that full time work dominated the chart as the destination of the graduates. While part-time work had the minority place. Notably, the salary showed the mixed proportion of the total earned amount.

In terms of the destination of the student, full-time work shared the significant proportion, accounting for 52%. Whereas part-time work + post graduate study occupied the least share (marely 5%). On the other hand, there were 15% of graduates who opted part-time work after graduation. Followed by unemployed student which was accounted for 12%.

Regarding salaries of Anthropology student, 40% of the students earned more than $100,000. In contrast, the private companies had marginal percentage with around 30%. Interestingly, the government sector was in between 5% to 50% of salary share.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the largest destination category accurately: full-time work at 52%, and you also report the 5% figure for part-time work combined with postgraduate study. However, the overview is incomplete and partly misleading: part-time work is not the smallest category, and the salary overview does not identify the main pattern. The table is also substantially misreported. The 40% figure applies to earnings of $75,000–$99,999 for freelance consultants, not to graduates earning over $100,000; the government sector has 50% in the top band, while private companies have 30%. Saying government salaries range “between 5% to 50%” does not make a meaningful comparison. Include the missing 8% categories and compare salary bands clearly to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for destinations and salaries. This helps readers follow the broad topic, and transitions such as “In terms of” and “Regarding” signal the shift between sections. However, some linking is mechanical or unclear. The opening “While the table gives…” is a sentence fragment, and “Overall… While part-time work…” also leaves a dependent clause incomplete. “Followed by unemployed student” is not smoothly connected to the preceding information. The salary paragraph moves from one figure to a vague range without explaining the comparison. Use complete sentences and organise each paragraph around a clear comparison, with cohesive links that show how the figures relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “destination,” “accounting for,” “proportion,” and “earned,” and the reader can generally understand the subject. There is also an attempt to vary wording rather than repeat “percentage.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing charts: “had the minority place,” “shared the significant proportion,” and “marginal percentage” do not express the intended comparisons clearly. “Salary share” is also imprecise because the table shows the distribution of employees across salary bands, not a share of salary. Spelling and word-form slips such as “marely” and “post graduate” further reduce control. Prefer standard reporting phrases such as “accounted for the smallest proportion” and name the salary band explicitly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and several basic statements communicate figures clearly, such as “full-time work shared the significant proportion, accounting for 52%.” However, some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. “While the table gives information…” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence, as is “While part-time work had the minority place.” The fragment “Followed by unemployed student…” also needs to be joined to a complete clause. There are some issues with articles and number, including “the destination of the student” and “unemployed student,” where plural graduates are meant. Aim to make each sentence grammatically complete, check singular and plural forms, and use a wider range of accurate comparisons.

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

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