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 illustrates the destination of Anthropology graduates who has finished their undergraduation degree. While the table reveals the monthly income after five years of the anthropologists in their job.

Overall, Majority of anthropology graduates are rely on the full time job while some students prefer part time work with postgrad study. In terms of table, three type of employment monthly income depends on their range of salary. Government sector paid more salaries when their range is high.

Anthropologist whose income was 25,000-49,999$ benefited from private companies with 10% , 5% in government sector and 5% in freelance sector.A similar trend has seen between the range of 50,000-74,999, private companies dominated among three employment with 35%, frelance consultants and government sector made up 15% each.

from the range 75,000 - 99,999 freelance consultants was the highest percentage with 40% as compared to other two employment, Government sector has a moderate rate with 30%, and private companies have 25%. The range from 100,000+ has the highest paid number which was 50% in employment of government sector. Freelance consultants was 40% and private comp[anies were 30%.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both visuals and include several accurate salary comparisons, such as government employment having the largest share in the $100,000+ band (50%) and freelance consultants leading in the $75,000–99,999 band (40%). The overview also identifies full-time work as the main graduate destination. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not report that 12% were unemployed, and its claim that graduates “prefer part time work with postgrad study” is unclear and overlooks the separate 15% in part-time work and 5% combining it with postgraduate study. The table is described in detail, but the chart receives little supporting detail. Also clarify that the table shows salary bands, not monthly income. Select the main features from both visuals more evenly and state them precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs comparing salary bands. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information, and phrases such as “In terms of table” and “as compared to” signal relationships. However, the chart is not developed after the overview, so the progression is unbalanced, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “A similar trend has seen between the range…” does not clearly explain what is similar, while the final paragraph moves through salary categories without a clear comparison of the three employment types. Use clearer topic sentences and connect comparisons explicitly, while keeping the overview separate from detailed figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “destination,” “freelance consultants,” “employment,” “range” and “percentage,” so the topic is generally clear. There are also attempts to vary wording, such as “dominated” and “moderate rate.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “monthly income” misrepresents the salary information, “benefited from private companies” does not express the proportion employed there, and “highest paid number” is unclear. Spelling errors such as “frelance” and “comp[anies” also reduce precision. Aim for standard chart language and accurate collocations, for example “the proportion earning,” “accounted for,” and “the highest salary band.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrastive opening with “While” and comparisons using “as compared to.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “graduates who has finished” should use a plural verb, and “Majority of anthropology graduates are rely” combines incompatible verb forms. The opening “While the table reveals…” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence. There are also inconsistent sentence openings and punctuation, including “from the range” after a full stop. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and verb patterns before adding complex clauses.

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

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