Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the number of households in the US by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.5)

The bar chart illustrates the data about different incomes of the US households from the year 2007,2011 and 2015.

Overall, people earning [redacted phone] or more than that had highest figures for two years, but slighty decreased in midtime. Whereas, people who earned between 75000 to 99999 they faced difficulty in buying houses in US. people who earned 25000 to 75000 were also remained comfertable in owning new houses throughout the period.

Initially, 2015 was the successful year among others registering the highest figures of US households as individuals having [redacted phone] or more over 34% of housesholds, 28% for people earning between 25000 to 50000, 27% for individuals

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the chart’s subject and attempts an overview, noting that the $100,000-or-more group was highest in two years and dipped in 2011. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: this group was highest in 2007 and 2015, not clearly “for two years” without naming them, and it reached its peak in 2015. The claims that lower-income households were “comfortable” owning houses and that the $75,000–$99,999 group “faced difficulty” are unsupported; the chart reports household counts, not home ownership or financial circumstances. The account is also incomplete and ends mid-sentence, with few usable comparisons. At 107 words, it does not meet the 150-word minimum. To improve, report the main changes accurately and compare the five income bands using relevant figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview and a detail paragraph. The opening “Overall” signals a summary, and “Initially” introduces a later section. However, progression is difficult to follow because the overview mixes chart trends with unsupported interpretations, and the final paragraph stops after “27% for individuals,” leaving the comparison unfinished. The use of “Whereas” does not create a complete, well-connected contrast, and the sequence of details is not developed across the three years. Use separate, complete paragraphs for the overview and key comparisons, and connect each figure clearly to its year and income group. This would give the response a more coherent progression rather than a series of incomplete points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “bar chart,” “figures,” “earning,” and “between,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural. “People earning” is less precise than “households in the income band,” while “faced difficulty in buying houses” and “remained comfortable in owning new houses” introduce meanings that the chart does not support. There are also spelling errors such as “slighty,” “comfertable,” and “housesholds,” which reduce clarity. Aim for precise terms such as “number of households,” “income bracket,” “rose,” “fell,” and “remained stable.” Avoid adding interpretations about home ownership when the data only show household counts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some sentence variety, including a relative clause in “people who earned between 75000 to 99999,” and the main topic can usually be understood. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “people who earned 25000 to 75000 were also remained” combines incompatible verb forms; use “also remained” or “were also.” The sentence beginning “Overall” has an unclear construction, and “Initially, 2015 was the successful year” does not form a clear comparison. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, including the lowercase “people” after a full stop and missing spaces after commas in the opening. Practise complete, direct sentences with accurate subject–verb patterns and clear punctuation before attempting more complex comparisons.

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

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