Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-28

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 charts display about the careers of university students after completing their Anthropology degree and also their salaries after five years of their work.

Overall, more than half of the students chose full-time work as their career, while the part time work combined with post-graduation study accounted for the least number of students. Meanwhile, the highest amount of salaries is earned by the most government sector employees. In contrast, students working in the private companies had the minimum salaries.

In terms of their career, 52% of the students selected full-time work. Meanwhile, individuals whose career options are unknown and those who pursue full-time post graduation both accounted for 8% of the total. Part-time work and unemployment had chosen by 5% and 12% of students respectively.

Regarding salaries after the 5 years of work, 50% of the government sector employees earned the highest salaries like 100k dollars plus. While the only 30% of the students working in the private companies were able to earn this salary, 40% in the freelance consultation companies. Only 5% of the employees in government and freelance consulting companies earned under 50 thousands dollars and accounted for 10% employed in the private companies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main destination clearly: full-time work accounts for 52%, and you note that the government sector has the largest share in the top salary band. These are relevant features, and the response covers both the chart and table. However, some details are misreported: part-time work is 15%, not 5%, while 5% refers to part-time work combined with postgraduate study. The overview also says private-company employees had the minimum salaries, although the table shows they were less concentrated in the top band, not that they had the lowest salaries overall. Develop the comparisons more precisely by contrasting salary distributions across all bands and distinguishing the two part-time categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for destinations and salaries. This makes the information easy to follow, and signposts such as “Overall,” “In terms of their career,” and “Regarding salaries” help guide the reader. The progression is generally logical, but some links are mechanical or leave relationships unclear. For example, “While the only 30%...” is a sentence fragment, and the final sentence shifts abruptly from the top salary band to the lowest band. Grouping the salary figures by employment type or by salary range, then using clearer comparisons, would make the paragraph flow more smoothly and strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of task-related vocabulary, including “full-time work,” “post-graduation study,” “government sector,” and “earned.” This is enough to communicate the main categories and comparisons. Some word choices and collocations are imprecise, however: “the highest amount of salaries” is unnatural, “career options are unknown” does not accurately describe the chart’s “not known” category, and “freelance consultation companies” mislabels freelance consultants. “Minimum salaries” also overstates what the table shows. Aim for precise chart language and natural collocations, such as describing the “highest salary band” or the “proportion earning under $50,000.” This would make your comparisons more accurate and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the contrast in “While the only 30%...” and the overview beginning “Overall.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. “Part-time work and unemployment had chosen by 5% and 12%” has an incorrect passive construction; use “were chosen by” or, more naturally, “accounted for.” The sentence beginning “While the only 30%...” is incomplete because it lacks a main clause. There are also issues with articles and number phrasing in “after the 5 years” and “under 50 thousands dollars.” Check that each subordinate clause is attached to a complete sentence, and review verb forms and plural agreement.

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