Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-26

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 chat illustrates the after work of anthropology students from single university after completing their undergraduate degree.The table depicts the information about the income of anthropologists after 5 years.

Overall,it is clear that,the graduates who did full time work was the most noticiable feature,while who enroled in government sector recorded the highest figure.In contrast,part time work+postgrad study and working in private company was the least significant.

Looking at the details,students who did full time work were accounted the highest with 52%.Followed by,who choose part time work (15%).12% of undergraduates were unemployed.8% of pupils were full time postgrade study and not known.Least were who did partime work with postgrade study.

Turning to the table,50%of students in government sectors earns $100,000 and was the highest amount of income.Freelance consultants and private coampanies employee who earns more than $100,000 was 40% and 30% respectively.$25000 to 49,999 were generate by freelance consultants and government sectors were the lowest at 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main destination clearly: full-time work is the largest group at 52%, and you include several other figures, including 15% in part-time work and 12% unemployed. You also note that government employees have the highest share in the top salary band. However, the overview is partly unclear: calling part-time work plus postgraduate study and private-company work “least significant” conflates a destination category with an employment sector, and the former is 5% while the latter has no single overall figure. The salary discussion is selective and omits useful comparisons, such as private-company employees being most concentrated in the $50,000–74,999 band. Report the key patterns across both visuals more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the pie chart and table. This helps the reader distinguish the two visuals. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes awkward: “Followed by, who choose part time work” is an incomplete transition, and “8% ... and not known” does not clearly show that two separate categories share the same percentage. The overview also combines unlike information, making its comparison difficult to follow. Use complete sentences and organise each paragraph around a clear pattern—for example, destinations from largest to smallest, then salary distributions by employment type. More precise referencing would make the links between figures easier to understand.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “undergraduate degree,” “unemployed,” “government sector,” and “income,” and you attempt to describe rankings with phrases such as “the highest figure.” However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning unclear: “after work” does not describe graduates’ destinations, “pie chat” is a misspelling, and “the least significant” is imprecise for a 5% category. There are also spelling errors such as “noticiable,” “postgrade,” and “coampanies.” Choose standard chart language and check spelling; use terms such as “destination,” “share,” and “salary band” accurately rather than relying on vague descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and more complex comparisons, but grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur in many sentences. For example, “the graduates who did full time work was” has subject–verb disagreement, while “students who did full time work were accounted the highest” uses an incorrect passive construction. In “50% of students in government sectors earns ... and was,” the verb forms do not agree with the subject or maintain a clear structure. Articles, sentence boundaries, and punctuation also need attention: the opening sentences run together, and commas are often placed after “Overall” and “Followed by” in ways that interrupt the sentence. Practise accurate comparison structures and proofread each sentence for a clear subject and matching verb.

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

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