Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-12

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 information about proportion of student work did after Anthropology course from the university. While table provides information about the salaries given to the Anthropology graduates from the three different types of work after five years of experience.

Overall, most of the student joined in full-time job after graduation. government sector offered highest salary after 5 years of graduation among all. Furthermore, more fluctuation shown in private sector.

More than half of the student did full-time job. The percentage of students who did part-time work and proportion was 15%. In addition, 12% students were unemployed after the graduation. Furthermore, Students who enrolled in full-time postgraduate study and part-time work with postgraduate had the same number and that was 12%.

40% of graduates joined Freelance consultants which offered 75,000-99,999 and more than 100,000 dollars. Students who had job in government sector that was 5% and salary received by them was 25-000-49,999 dollars. In addition, that number increased three times that provide money about 50,000-74,000. half of students got more than 100,000 salaries in same. In private sector, Highest paid salaries were 50,000-74,999 dollars to 35% graduates.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main destination as full-time work and note that government-sector employees are most likely to earn over $100,000, so the response includes relevant overview points. However, coverage of the data is partial and several details are inaccurate or unclear. You say full-time and part-time postgraduate study had the same figure of 12%, whereas the chart shows 8% and 5%; 12% applies to unemployment. The statement that “40% of graduates joined Freelance consultants” also confuses a salary-band percentage with the proportion entering that employment type. The overview’s claim of “more fluctuation” in the private sector is not clearly explained. Select key comparisons accurately and summarise the salary distributions across all three sectors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for graduate destinations and salaries. This gives the reader a coherent overall arrangement, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “In addition” help connect points. However, progression within the salary paragraph is difficult to follow: the freelance, government and private-sector figures are presented without consistently identifying which salary band each percentage refers to. Some transitions are also mechanical, and “that number” in the government-sector discussion has an unclear reference. Grouping the salary information by sector and using explicit comparisons—for example, contrasting the highest-income shares in government and freelance work—would make the relationships between details clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “proportion,” “unemployed,” “postgraduate study,” and “government sector,” and the reader can generally understand the topic. However, word choice and collocation are often imprecise, which sometimes makes the data difficult to interpret. For example, “salary given” is less natural than “salary earned,” while “more fluctuation shown” does not clearly describe a comparison in a table. “Joined Freelance consultants” is also an unsuitable way to describe an employment category. There are noticeable form and spelling issues, including “Antrhropology” in the response’s wording? (The response uses “Anthropology” correctly, but has other awkward forms such as “Highest paid salaries.”) Aim for precise terms such as “share,” “earned,” and “salary band,” and check spelling and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the contrastive opening with “While” and the overview sentence beginning “Furthermore.” However, grammatical control is uneven, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and verb forms sometimes make relationships unclear. For instance, “proportion of student work did” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “most of the student joined” has an agreement and number problem. The sentence “Students who had job in government sector that was 5%” is also incomplete and difficult to parse. There are some correctly formed short statements, such as “More than half of the student did full-time job,” but these also need article and plural corrections. Practise accurate basic clauses before adding complex structures, and proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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