Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-19

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 6.5)

The pie chart illustrates different career paths that anthropology students from the same university chose after completing their degree. The table below it shows the earnings of these graduates after working for 5 years. Overall, over half of the anthropologists chose to work full-time after graduating. And almost half of them were in the highest income threshold after 5 years.

According to the chart, full-time work was chosen by 52% of fresh anthropology graduates, while 12% of them stayed unemployed. An additional 15% worked part-time, and 5% were also able to study further along with their part-time work. Furthermore, 8% of the students pursued their postraduate degree full-time, and the same percentage of graduates' destinations are unkown.

As shown in the table, 40% of freelance consultants, 50% of government employees, and 30% of private employees earn more than $100,000 after 5 years. While 40% freelance consultants, 30% government employees, and 25% private job-holders earned over $75,000 after the same period. Additionally, the same percentage of freelance consultants and government employees earn between $50,000 and $74,999 at precisely 15%. On the contrary, 35% of anthropologists in the private sector earned in the same range. Anthropology graduates that earn between $25,000 and $49,999 are 5%,5%, and 10% respectively. Thus, most anthropologists earn over $100,000 after working for 5 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both visuals and give a relevant overview: full-time work is correctly identified as the largest destination, and the salary table is summarised with comparisons across the three employment types. Most figures are accurate, including the 52% full-time-work share and the salary-band percentages. However, the overview claim that “almost half” were in the highest income threshold is not supported across the table: the $100,000+ shares range from 30% to 50%, and only government employees reach half. The final statement that “most anthropologists earn over $100,000” also overgeneralises, since this is true for only one employment group. Develop the overview around the clearest contrasts and qualify conclusions by sector to make the key features more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised into a clear introduction and overview, followed by one paragraph for the destination chart and one for salaries. This gives the reader a logical route through both visuals, and linking expressions such as “According to the chart,” “As shown in the table,” and “Additionally” help signal the information. The salary paragraph also groups figures by income band, making comparisons easy to follow. Some transitions are less effective: beginning a sentence with “And” after the overview is unnecessary, while “On the contrary” suggests a contrast or opposition that is not quite the relationship between the salary figures. The final “Thus” repeats an overgeneralised conclusion. Use more precise links and avoid restating a claim that the data do not support.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a good range of task-appropriate vocabulary, including “career paths,” “earnings,” “pursued,” “income threshold,” and “private sector.” These choices allow you to describe both destinations and salary categories with reasonable flexibility. Some wording is less natural or precise for this report: “fresh anthropology graduates” is an awkward way to refer to recent graduates, and “were also able to study further” adds an implication not shown by the chart. There are also spelling errors in “postraduate” and “unkown,” and “private employees” is less precise than naming the employment sector. Aim for accurate, neutral reporting language and check spelling carefully; this will make the otherwise clear vocabulary more consistently controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the contrast in “while 12% of them stayed unemployed” and the longer comparisons in the salary paragraph. Most sentences communicate the intended figures clearly. Some grammatical and punctuation issues remain. “Overall, over half … after graduating. And almost half …” is an awkward sentence break; combine the ideas or use a suitable linking structure. In “While 40% freelance consultants … earned over $75,000,” the opening clause is incomplete because “while” introduces a dependent clause without a main clause. The final sentence, “Anthropology graduates that earn … are 5%, 5%, and 10% respectively,” also has an unclear grammatical relationship between the people and the percentages. Reshape these sentences so comparisons have complete, parallel structures.

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