Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-17

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 first chart illustrates that what the students of the Anthropology graduates had done after completing their degree course.Whereas the table discribes the type of employment and their eurnings after 5 years work.

Overall it is noticeable that, after persuing their graduation more then half of students are working as full time job and only few students are working as part time and persuing their postgrad studies. Meanwhile government sector who are earning above 100,000 Doller is the highest among all and below 50,000 freelance consultants and government sector had same percentage.

A glance at the chart represents that, 52% of students were working as full time job after completin their graduation. Then after 15% of students who are working as part time job. subsiquently 5% among them are doing part time job as well as studing postgrad. There are 12% of students who are unemployed after persuing the graduation and 8% of students are studing as full time masters.

Further analysis at the second table reflects that freelance consultants who are earing 25,000-49,999 Doller are 5%, 50,[redacted phone]9 are 15% and below and above 100,000 are 40% salary of Antrhropology garduates after 5 years. Whereas in private companies they had lowest salary in compare to other two employment type that is 30% [redacted phone]+.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main destination, noting that 52% entered full-time work, and you include several other figures from the chart. The overview also attempts a comparison between employment sectors. However, coverage of the salary table is incomplete and partly inaccurate: you report the freelance figures for the first two bands and the 40% figure for the top band, but do not clearly distinguish the $75,000–99,999 and $100,000+ categories. You omit the government-sector distribution apart from its highest band, and the claim that private companies had the lowest salary “that is 30% 100000+” is misleading, since 30% is not the lowest salary band there. Include the key contrasts across all three sectors and clarify the chart’s destinations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the chart and table. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Then after 15%” does not form a clear connection to the preceding figure, while “below and above 100,000” makes the salary categories difficult to follow. The overview also combines several points without clearly separating graduate destinations from salary comparisons. Use one paragraph to summarise the main chart patterns and another to compare salary bands systematically, with clear references such as “the former” or “the highest band” only when their meaning is unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “unemployed,” “freelance consultants,” “government sector,” and “postgrad studies,” so the reader can identify the main subject matter. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “working as full time job,” “persuing their graduation,” and “lowest salary in compare.” Spelling errors—including “discribes,” “eurning,” and “Doller”—also make the writing less precise. Aim for standard chart language such as “were employed full time,” “after completing their degree,” and “earned salaries below…” Check spelling and use consistent forms for salary ranges; this would make your comparisons clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “Whereas” and a sentence beginning “Meanwhile.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. For example, “The first chart illustrates that what the students… had done” has an awkward clause structure, and “52% of students were working as full time job” has an incorrect complement. There are also problems with articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries, as in “Then after 15% of students who are working…” and the run-on final sentence. Practise complete subject–verb sentences and use past-tense reporting consistently, for example, “A further 15% worked part time.”

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

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