Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-22

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 the proportion of Anthropology graduates from one university after finishing their undergraduate degree course. The table presents the salaries of Anthropology gradyates after five-years work in three different types of employment.

Overall, full-time work was recorded; the highest proportion of Anthropology graduates, while part-time work plus postgrad stduy experienced the lowest proportion in the university. Furthermore, private companies has the highest salaries whereas freelancme consultants was the lowest salaries.

In the pie chart, majority of graduates has a full-time work at 52%, pat-time work at 15%, approximately 12% unemployed, remained the same proportion for not known and full-time postgrad study at 8%, and exactly 5% in part-time work plus postgraduate study.

On the other hand, private companies accounted for 10%, 35%, 25%, and 30% in fidderent categories of salaries. Goverment sector and freelance consultants remained the same at 5% and 15% in $25,000-$49,999 salaries, also only 30% and 50% in goverment sector in $75,00-$99,999 salaries, and remained the same proportion in freelance consultants at 40%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main destination category correctly: full-time work accounts for 52%, and part-time work plus postgraduate study is the smallest group at 5%. You also include several salary figures. However, the overview is not fully accurate: “private companies has the highest salaries” is too broad, since government employment has the largest share in the top salary band (50%), while private companies lead in the $50,000–$74,999 band (35%). The table description also omits or confuses important comparisons: for example, freelance consultants have 40% in both upper bands, and private-company figures are listed without explaining their pattern. Some data are unclear, including “remained the same proportion” for the 8% groups. Select and compare the key features more precisely, and avoid unsupported generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the pie chart and salary table. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the final paragraph is difficult to follow. The sentence beginning “Government sector and freelance consultants remained the same…” combines several salary bands and employment types without clearly stating which figures belong together. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand” do not show a meaningful contrast between the charts, and “also” and “remained the same” are used imprecisely. Organise the table information by salary band or employment type, and use clear comparisons and references so each figure’s category is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportion,” “accounted for,” “unemployed,” and “salary categories,” and you attempt to describe comparisons. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, sometimes making the data harder to interpret: “gradyates,” “stduy,” “freelancme,” “fidderent,” and “Goverment.” Phrases such as “the highest salaries” and “the lowest salaries” are also imprecise because the table reports proportions within salary bands, not salary levels for each employment type. Use accurate terms such as “share,” “salary band,” and “earned” or “fell into,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish the highest-paid groups from the largest proportions in particular bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the opening sentence communicates the chart’s subject. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, particularly with subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “private companies has” should use a plural verb, while “majority of graduates has a full-time work” needs a clearer noun phrase and verb form. The overview fragment “full-time work was recorded; the highest proportion” is incorrectly joined by a semicolon, and “freelance consultants was” also has agreement problems. The long final sentence is difficult to parse because several clauses and figures are joined without clear grammatical relationships. Practise accurate comparison structures and divide complex data descriptions into shorter, complete sentences.

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