Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The pie chart illustrate the destination of Anthropolgy graduates from one universty after completing their undergraduate degree, while the table shows the salaries of

anthropogists in three types of employment five years later.

overall, the majority of graduates found fulltime work, and the government sector offered the highest salaries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the two visuals and gives a relevant overview: full-time work was the most common destination, and government employment had the highest salary share in the top bracket. However, it does not report the supporting details needed to summarise the charts, such as the 52% in full-time work, the 12% unemployed, or how salary distributions differ across the three employment types. The claim about government salaries is broadly supported by the 50% earning $100,000 or more, but it would be more precise to compare this with freelance consultants (40%) and private-company employees (30%). The response is also substantially below the required 150 words. Include a fuller selection of figures and comparisons to address the task adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The two sentences have a basic, sensible order: the first introduces the chart and table, and the second gives an overall summary. The linking word “while” clearly distinguishes the visuals, and “overall” signals an overview. However, the response is too brief to show progression through the main data, and there is no paragraph development or comparison beyond the overview. The capitalisation of “overall” after the full stop also interrupts the presentation. To improve, organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and one or two paragraphs that group related figures, using clear links such as “by contrast” or “whereas” to guide the reader through comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses relevant task vocabulary, including “destination,” “graduates,” “undergraduate degree,” “salaries,” and “government sector,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is narrow because the response contains very little description of data or comparison. There are also spelling errors in “Anthropolgy,” “universty,” and “anthropogists,” which reduce accuracy and polish. “Fulltime” is better written as “full-time,” and “found fulltime work” is less precise than language describing the chart category directly. Build a wider set of accurate terms for reporting proportions and salary bands, and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response includes a compound sentence using “while” and a separate overview sentence, and the intended meaning is easy to follow. However, the grammatical range is very limited, with no developed comparisons or varied sentence patterns. There is also a subject–verb agreement error in “The pie chart illustrate”; the singular subject requires “illustrates.” The opening sentence is otherwise structured clearly, but the lowercase “overall” after a full stop is a punctuation and sentence-boundary presentation issue. Practise accurate agreement and use a wider range of structures, for example, sentences comparing the proportions in different employment categories while keeping each clause grammatically controlled.

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

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