Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-07

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 6.5)

The bar graph illustrates households in the USA based on their annual income based on three years over an eight-year period - 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Initially, in 2007, the majority of households have an annual income in excess of $100,000 with approximately 30million households having this income.

The lowest annual income amount in 2007 was $75,000-$99,999 with this the annual income for just under 15 million households.

The majority total income figure rapidly declines in 2011. Here, the majority of households have a total income of $25,000-$49,999, accounting for 30million people, increasing from just over 25million in 2007. However, the amount of households with an income above $100,000 remains quite high at almost 30million.

In the year 2015, an income in excess of $100,000 returns to be the most common annual income for households, similar to 2007, exceeding 30million households for the first time. Moreover, again similar to 2007, $75,000-$99,999 is the least common household income with around 15million households having this as their annual income.

Notably, the amount of households with an income of $75,000-$99,999 almost remains stagnate in each year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data points to support your summary. You covered all three years and made appropriate comparisons between the income brackets. However, there are some inaccuracies in your data interpretation; for instance, you state that the majority of households in 2011 earned $25,000-$49,999, but the chart shows the $50,000-$74,999 and $100,000+ categories are also significant. Additionally, referring to '30 million people' is incorrect as the chart measures 'households'. Ensuring precision in data reporting is essential for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction and a chronological progression through the years. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'However', and 'Moreover' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is somewhat disjointed; the transition between the 2011 data and the 2015 data could be smoother. Furthermore, some referencing is slightly repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'annual income' and 'households' in every sentence. Improving the variety of cohesive links and paragraph structure would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'in excess of', and 'stagnate'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'the majority total income figure' which is slightly awkward, and the confusion between 'households' and 'people'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and avoid repeating the same phrases (e.g., 'annual income') throughout the text. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'returns to be the most common' (should be 'returns to being') and 'amount of households' (should be 'number of households' as households are countable). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading. Your control over punctuation is generally good, and the sentence structures are varied enough to maintain interest.

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

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