Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-24

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 percentage of work done by anthropology students after their graduation from university , while table chart compares the salaries of these graduates after five years of work.

Overall, a highest number of graduates did full time work and they accounted for 52%. The lowest ratio was of not known people that made upto 8%.

By examining pie chart in more detail , 15% of graduates perfomed pet time job, whereas, 12% remained unemployed . The ratio of full-time postgrad study rose to 8% .

According to table chart , these graduates performed their role in three major sectore including ; freelance consultant , govt sector , and private companies for five years .First year , they earned $[redacted phone]9 , among them , freelance consultant contributed upto 5% while the others followed the same pattern with 5% govt sector and 10% private companies respectively .

In second year , they earned $[redacted phone]9, graduates in private companied contributed the major part with upto 35%. In third year , they earned $[redacted phone]9, the largest contributor was freelance consultants . In final year , they gathered , $[redacted phone]+ , govt sector was the higest sector to add 50% into it.

In summation , 52% of graduats did full time work and the salary of govt sector graduates was the highest salary.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main destination clearly: full-time work was the largest category at 52%, and you note that 8% were recorded as “not known.” You also report several salary figures accurately, including the 35% of private-company employees in the $50,000–74,999 band and the 50% of government employees earning $100,000 or more. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not summarise the broad salary pattern, and “the salary of govt sector graduates was the highest salary” is too general because the table gives distributions across four bands. The account also misreads the table as a sequence of years; these are salary ranges, not successive years. Include the omitted 5% combining part-time work and postgraduate study, and compare the salary profiles more directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about the chart and then the table. Paragraphing helps distinguish the two visuals, and linking expressions such as “whereas” and “In final year” signal relationships between points. However, the progression through the table is not logical because “In second year” and “In third year” treat salary bands as stages over time. Some connections are also mechanical or unclear, particularly the repeated “In…” sequence and the final “In summation,” which largely repeats the opening overview rather than drawing together the main comparisons. Organise the table by employment sector or by salary band, and use clearer comparisons to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “graduates,” “unemployed,” “freelance consultants,” and “government sector,” so the main subject is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal reporting language, such as “illustrates” and “contributed.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or awkward: “percentage of work done” does not describe graduate destinations, and “contributed” is unsuitable for describing the proportion of employees in a salary band. Spelling errors such as “perfomed,” “sectore,” “companied,” and “graduats” also reduce precision. Build a more reliable set of chart-reporting expressions, especially “accounted for,” “were employed in,” and “earned,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including a comparison with “whereas” and a relative clause in “the lowest ratio was of not known people that made upto 8%.” Most of the intended meaning can be followed, but some grammatical errors recur. Articles and noun forms are problematic in phrases such as “a highest number” and “the lowest ratio was of not known people”; the latter also has an unclear clause structure. Commas and spacing are inconsistent, and the sentence beginning “First year” is a fragment rather than a complete sentence. The repeated past-tense framing of salary bands also creates inaccurate sentence patterns. Practise complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and use articles and punctuation consistently.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.