Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-09

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 chart illustrates the number of household in the United States by their income yearly in three different years in 2007,2011 and 2015 .

Overall, the number of household for the $100,000 or more represented the highest annual income in two years . While , the $50,000 - $74,999 was the lowest income in all the three years .

In 2007, the annual cost for category less than $25,000 was 25 millions of

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and attempts an overview, noting that the $100,000-or-more group was highest in two years. However, this is inaccurate: it was highest only in 2015, while the $25,000–$49,999 group was largest in 2007 and 2011. The claim that $50,000–$74,999 was the lowest category in all three years is also incorrect; the $75,000–$99,999 group was lower each time. The only specific figure given, 25 million for the under-$25,000 group in 2007, is accurate, but the response ends mid-sentence and reports almost none of the chart’s other changes or comparisons. It is also substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the task only minimally addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an introduction is followed by an overview and then the start of a detail paragraph. The sequence is understandable, and “Overall” signals a shift to the main features. However, the response stops after “25 millions of,” so the final paragraph is incomplete and there is no progression through the remaining years or income groups. The overview’s two comparisons are also difficult to follow because they are inaccurate, and punctuation around “While” interrupts the connection between ideas. To improve, complete the report and organise the details into clear comparisons, using linking phrases such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile” only where they accurately show relationships.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “chart illustrates,” “category,” “annual income,” and “Overall,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited, and several word choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “annual cost” does not describe household income, and “represented the highest annual income” confuses the income bracket with the number of households in it. “Number of household” is also an incorrect form, while “25 millions” is not the natural way to express the figure. Use precise terms such as “number of households,” “income bracket,” and “million households.” A wider set of verbs for describing data—such as “rose,” “remained stable,” and “fell”—would help report the chart more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a few sentence forms, including an overview sentence beginning “Overall” and a contrast introduced by “While,” but control is uneven. Errors include singular “household” where the plural is needed, missing spaces after commas in “2007,2011,” and the incomplete final sentence, “In 2007 … was 25 millions of,” which has no completed noun phrase or ending. The construction “While, the …” is also not a complete, well-punctuated contrast clause. These problems make parts of the report difficult to read, although the basic intended meaning can often be inferred. Practise complete sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement and punctuation, and check each sentence for a clear ending before moving on.

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