Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

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 hold 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 properties, which then rose to almost 28 million in 2007 and decreased slightly in 2015, concluding at almost 26.5 million. The exact pattern is seen by the people who earned between 25,000 dollars and 49,999 dollars, who own approximately 26 million houses, which increases gradually, reaching the mark of almost 29 million, and decreases slightly by approximately 2 million.

The people who 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, which remained between almost 13 million and 15 million. Nevertheless, the people who earn more are always going to spend 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 7.0

The response covers all parts of the task and provides a clear overview of the main trends. You successfully identified the key features, such as the dominance of the highest income bracket and the fluctuations in other groups. However, there are some inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, you mention that the lowest income group rose to 28 million in 2007, but the chart shows this figure for 2011. Additionally, the phrase 'hold most of the property' is slightly inaccurate as the chart refers to the 'number of households', not property ownership. To improve, ensure that data points are mapped precisely to the correct years and categories.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Nevertheless', and 'in terms of' to link ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different income groups. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing in the third paragraph is a bit repetitive. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the connection between the 'richest group' and the concluding sentence could be smoother. Overall, the structure is effective and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'fluctuated throughout the period', 'drastically', and 'all-time high' are used effectively. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as using 'property' instead of 'households' and 'concluding at' which is slightly unnatural in this context. While you attempt to use some less common vocabulary, the precision could be improved to reach a higher band. The vocabulary is adequate for the task and does not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is good control over grammar, and most sentences are error-free. However, there are some minor slips, such as 'the exact pattern is seen by the people' (passive voice usage is slightly awkward here) and 'the people who earn more are always going to spend more' (this is a general statement that is not strictly supported by the chart data). Punctuation is generally accurate, and the errors present do not cause any difficulty for the reader.

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