Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 depicts the destination of anthropology graduates from a university and the tabulated data conveys information regarding the income of these students after completing a work of 5 years.

In an overview, it is evident from the graph that highest share of students for a full-time work after studies and whereabouts of the least proportion are unknown. The table made it clear that, highest salary of one million dollars were bagged by government servants and least wages between $25,000 - 49,999 were received by smallest proportions of freelance consultats and government sector agents.

In the pie chart 55% of graduates did full-time work while 15% were doing part-time work. Unemployment was at 12% of the total share of anthropology graduates. 8% of the total proporation is distributed over full-time postgraduate study and not known category, each. Only a 5% pursued their postgraduation along with part-time work.

Additionally, from the tabulated data, 40% received the highest income of above one million dollars while only a 5% received the least quoted wage somewhere between $25,000 and $49,000 amongst the freelance consultants of anthropology graduates. Whereas, Government sector had a 50% and 5% receiving the highest and lowest amount respectively. However, 35% of private company employees received highest income while 10% reeived the lowest.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover both the graduate destinations and the salary table, and identify full-time work as the largest destination category. However, several figures are inaccurate: full-time work is 52%, not 55%, and the table’s highest salary band is $100,000+, not one million dollars. The overview also says the least-known destination is the smallest, although “not known” is 8% and the part-time-work-plus-postgraduate-study group is only 5%. Some comparisons are useful, such as noting the government sector’s 50% in the top band, but the private-company figures are misreported: 35% are in the $50,000–74,999 band, not the highest band. More accurate selection and reporting of key comparisons would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the chart and table. This makes the two sources easy to distinguish, and transitions such as “Additionally” and “However” help connect points. Some links are less effective, though. “Whereas” begins a fragment-like continuation, and “In an overview” is an awkward signpost. The overview also combines several claims in a long sentence, making the comparison harder to follow. Grouping the salary data by employment type and using clearer links between contrasting figures would improve progression. Overall, the organisation is coherent, but cohesion is occasionally mechanical or unclear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “destination,” “proportion,” “unemployment,” and “tabulated data.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “income … after completing a work of 5 years,” “highest salary … were bagged,” and “least quoted wage” do not express the data naturally. “One million dollars” also misstates the salary category, while “consultats” and “proporation” are spelling errors. Prefer standard chart language such as “salary band,” “accounted for,” and “earned.” More consistent, precise vocabulary would help you describe the figures without ambiguity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while” and “whereas,” and the main message is generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “the highest share of students for a full-time work” has an incorrect article and structure; “a 5%” is not appropriate before a percentage; and “Whereas, Government sector had…” is not a complete, well-formed sentence in this context. The opening sentence also has an awkward grammatical pattern around “after completing a work of 5 years.” Review article use and ensure contrast clauses are attached to complete sentences. These issues sometimes reduce clarity, despite the overall meaning being recoverable.

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