Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-07-26

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 7.0)

The bar chart illustrates the number of households in the United States in terms of their annual income in the following three years: 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Overall, it can be seen that the people who earned more than 100,000 dollars held most of the property in all three years, while the inverse is true for the people earning between 75,000 dollars and 99,999 dollars.

However, in 2007, people earning less than 25,000 dollars owned 25 million households, which then rose to almost 28 million in 2011 and decreased slightly in 2015, concluding at almost 26.5 million. The exact pattern was seen by the people who earned between 25,000 dollars and 49,999 dollars, who owned approximately 26 million houses, which increased gradually, reaching the mark of almost 29 million, and decreased slightly by approximately 2 million.

Now, referencing the group that earned between 50,000 dollars and 74,999 dollars fluctuated throughout the period between approximately 20 million and 22 million; this same pattern was seen by the people who earned between 75,000 dollars and 99,999 dollars, whose earnings remained between almost 13 million and 15 million. Nevertheless, the people who earned more had always spent more, looking at the richest group, people earning more than 100,000 dollars. These people held almost 29 million of the houses in the US in 2007, which decreased slightly by almost 4 million and then increased drastically, reaching the all-time high, concluding at approximately 34 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered all income categories and included relevant comparisons across the three years. However, there is a significant issue with your interpretation of the data: you refer to the figures as 'households' owning 'property' or 'houses'. The chart actually shows the number of households categorized by their annual income level, not the number of houses owned by these groups. This misinterpretation of the data labels affects the accuracy of your reporting. To improve, ensure you carefully read the axis labels and the chart title before drafting your response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group the data effectively. You use cohesive devices such as 'however', 'nevertheless', and 'concluding at' to link ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different income groups. While the flow is generally good, some transitions between sentences feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing of 'the same pattern' could be more precise to ensure the reader follows the comparison without ambiguity. Overall, the information is presented in a coherent manner that is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fluctuated', 'drastically', and 'all-time high' to describe trends. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'held most of the property' and 'spent more', which stem from the misinterpretation of the data mentioned in Task Achievement. While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, the misuse of these terms limits your score. To reach a higher band, focus on using precise terminology related to data description (e.g., 'proportion', 'category', 'bracket') and ensure your vocabulary accurately reflects the information provided in the prompt.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The bar chart illustrates...' and '...people earning more than 100,000 dollars held most of the property...'. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'The exact pattern was seen by the people who earned...' which is slightly awkward phrasing, and 'the people who earned more had always spent more', which is a tense error. However, these errors do not impede communication. Your control of punctuation is generally good, and the majority of your sentences are clear and understandable. Increasing the variety of complex structures would help improve this score.

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