Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-16

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 types of work joined by students after completing their undergraduation from a particular university, and the table depicts salary according to their palcement and organization.

Overall, the full-time work covers largest share, while part-time work + postgraduate study occpies least share. The experienced government sector employees are highly paid, but private companies are less.

After completing graduation on Anthropology, most of the people joined full-time work. The full-time work occpies largest share, at 52%, followed by part-time work, at 15%. The unemployed share is very close to the part-time work, at 12%. However. the part-time work+postgrad study covers minimal share, at 5%, but the full time postgrad study covers 8%.

After 5 years of working experience in the Antrhropology, the government sector is highly paid, more than $100,000, compared to others, that is 50%. Followed by Freelance consultants, at 40%. In the private companies, 10% of graduates receive salary betwwen $25000 and $49999, while graduates working in the freelance consultants and Goevrnment sector receive equal percentage of salary.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main destination pattern accurately: full-time work is the largest category at 52%, and part-time work plus postgraduate study is the smallest at 5%. You also include the other destination figures. The salary overview is relevant, but “government sector employees are highly paid” is too broad: the table shows that 50% earn $100,000 or more, while the corresponding figures are 40% for freelance consultants and 30% for private-company employees. The final comparison is incomplete and unclear; it does not report the full salary distributions, and the equal percentages for government and freelance workers are not specified by salary band. Select and compare the key salary figures more precisely to make coverage of both visuals more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for destinations and salaries. This makes the two visuals easy to distinguish, and sequencing phrases such as “followed by” help present the destination figures. However, the salary paragraph ends with an unclear comparison—“receive equal percentage of salary”—without identifying the relevant income band or percentages. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the sentence fragment “Followed by Freelance consultants, at 40%.” Use complete sentences and make comparisons explicit, for example by naming the salary bracket and both employment groups. These changes would strengthen progression and make the relationships between figures clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “full-time work,” “postgraduate study,” “salary,” and “government sector,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is limited and several choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “types of work joined,” “the full-time work covers largest share,” and “highly paid, more than $100,000.” More precise chart language would improve clarity: graduates “entered” or “were employed in” a sector, and a proportion “accounted for” a share. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “palcement,” “occpies,” “betwwen,” and “Goevrnment,” which reduce control. Aim for accurate, varied reporting vocabulary and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, and most of the intended meaning can be followed. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation recur. “The full-time work covers largest share” is missing an article, while “However. the part-time work…” uses incorrect punctuation after the linking word. The sentence beginning “Followed by Freelance consultants” is a fragment, and “the government sector is highly paid, more than $100,000” does not form a clear grammatical comparison between a sector and a salary figure. There are also awkward patterns such as “After completing graduation on Anthropology.” Use complete clauses, check articles and prepositions, and ensure that comparisons have parallel grammatical forms.

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