Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-11

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 compares the destination of Anthropology graduates from one university after completing the undergraduate course. While the tables illustrates the salaries of an Antropology graduates in three different sectors after 5 years.

Overall, highest proportion of students pursue full-time work as the destination and very few graduates choose part-time work with post graduation study. After 5 years, the government sector had greater number of antropology graduates.

Looking at the pie chart, around 52% of antropology grads choosen full-time work as their destination. Where 15% of students taken part-time work as the destination and 12% of graduates are unemployed. 8% of students choose full-time with postgrad study. Other 8% of grads are not known, finally 5% of students are doing both pat-time work and postgrad study.

Looking at the table, after 5 years of the graduation 10% of students are working in the private companies with $25,000-49,999 salary. Again 35% of graduates having %50,000-74,999 salary in private company. Where 40% of the students are having $75,000-99,999 salary and works in a freelance consultants. Around 50% of students are in the government sector who have the salary above $100,000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main destination clearly: full-time work accounts for 52%, while only 5% combine part-time work with postgraduate study. You also include several accurate salary figures, such as 35% of private-company employees earning $50,000–74,999 and 50% of government employees earning over $100,000. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: the claim that the government sector had a “greater number” of graduates is not supported, since the table compares salary distributions, not employee numbers. The salary discussion also selects only a few cells and does not compare the three sectors systematically. To strengthen the response, summarise the broad salary pattern across sectors and make the overview describe the most notable contrasts rather than an unsupported ranking.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the pie chart and table. This makes the two sources easy to distinguish, and phrases such as “Looking at the pie chart” signal the shift between them. However, progression within the data paragraphs is sometimes list-like, with repeated sentence openings such as “Where” and “Again,” and the table paragraph moves between salary bands and sectors without a consistent comparison pattern. Some links are also awkward, for example “Other 8%” and “finally 5%.” Grouping figures by sector or by salary band, and using clearer contrasts such as “by comparison” or “whereas,” would make the relationships between details easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “destination,” “full-time work,” “unemployed,” “salary,” and “government sector,” so the topic is generally clear. There is some repetition of “students,” “graduates,” and “work,” and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, including “greater number” for a table showing percentages and “having” a salary. Spelling errors such as “Antropology,” “antropology,” and “pat-time” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise reporting language and check spelling carefully; terms such as “proportion,” “earned,” and “salary band” would help describe the data more naturally. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but errors and limited variation prevent consistently precise expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer structures, including the opening contrast beginning “While” and the overview sentence starting “After 5 years,” but control is uneven. The first sentence after the introduction, “While the tables illustrates…,” is not a complete sentence and has subject–verb disagreement. Other examples include “52% … choosen,” “students taken part-time work,” and “35% of graduates having,” where verb forms or sentence structure are faulty. Articles and number agreement also need attention in phrases such as “an Antropology graduates” and “the tables illustrates.” Most intended meanings can still be understood, but these recurring errors limit accuracy. Practise complete sentences with accurate past or present reporting verbs, and check agreement between subjects and verbs.

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