Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The pie chart represents the proportion of Anthropology graduates from one undergraduate degree course from one university did after five years of work.

Overall, majority of the population partook full-time work while minority did both postgraduate study and part-time work. The ratio of full-time postgrad is the same as people whose work is not yet known. Furthermore, people working in the government sector have the most disproptionatenumber of people in each income range compared to the private companies which has nearly the same number of people in each income category.

After five years, more than half, that is 52%, of Anthropology students went into full-time work. The next largest proportion, 15%, is working part-time. 8% of the students did postgrad study in addition to full-time work, while only 5% did postgrad study with part-time work. Of the last one-fifth proportion, 12% of the Anthropology course graduates remained unemployed while nothing is known about the remaining 8%.

Similar number of people as freelance consultants or government worker have $25,000 to $49,999 and %50,000 to $74,999 salaries. 40% earn more than $100,000 working freelancing where 50% people earn the same by working for government. In contrast 35% of the students working for private equity earn between $50,000 to $74,999.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both the graduate destinations and the salary table, and the main figures for destinations are mostly accurate: full-time work is correctly identified as the largest group at 52%, followed by part-time work at 15%. You also note the matching 8% figures for full-time postgraduate study and unknown destinations. However, the overview is partly unclear: “minority did both postgraduate study and part-time work” refers to only one category, and the comparison about government salaries being most disproportionate is not clearly supported. The table discussion omits the broad pattern that government employees have the highest share in the top salary band, while private-company employees are more concentrated in the $50,000–74,999 band. Develop these comparisons more precisely and distinguish the two postgraduate categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by one paragraph on destinations and another on salaries. This makes the two visual elements easy to identify, and sequencing phrases such as “Overall,” “After five years,” and “In contrast” help guide the reader. Some links and references are less effective, however. “The last one-fifth proportion” is an imprecise transition to the unemployed and unknown groups, and “the same” in the salary paragraph does not clearly specify which salary band is being compared. The overview also combines several comparisons in a long sentence, making its central message harder to follow. Use clearer topic sentences and explicit references to the relevant categories and salary bands.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “unemployed,” “salary,” and “freelance consultants,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal or precise wording, such as “remained unemployed.” Some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, though: “population” is not suitable for graduates in this context, “partook full-time work” is an awkward collocation, and “disproptionatenumber” is misspelled and unclear. “Private equity” also changes the table’s category, which is “private companies.” Aim for standard chart-reporting expressions such as “accounted for,” “were employed in,” and “the highest proportion,” and check spelling and category labels carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including the contrast introduced by “while” and the longer overview beginning “Furthermore.” Most of the intended meaning can be followed, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In the opening, “graduates … did” lacks a clear grammatical construction; write, for example, “the destinations of Anthropology graduates after completing their degree.” In “the ratio of full-time postgrad is the same as people,” the comparison is not grammatically parallel. There are also agreement and article issues in “the private companies which has” and “50% people,” and the salary figure “%50,000” is incorrectly formatted. Use complete, parallel comparisons and check subject–verb agreement and articles.

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

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