Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-08

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 5.0)

The flow chart illustrate the relationship between household US and annual income. In 2007 the use of household is about 25 % which is increased in years later as in 2008 and respectively in 2009.The money spent in year 2007 is nearly equal to the $25000.then in 2008 the household increase up to 30% annually. that means people spent more in upcoming years. as the year 2011 indicate that the household less than income is about less than 30%.

but the bar graph shows that the money spent in this year is about $ 25 000to $49000. so the household item purchase this year are greater in number as compared to the previous years. the bar graphs shows the annual income in 2015. before the 2015 year the household income is nearly in between 25 to 30 as the years after 2015 indicate high surge or rise in income as it increase to 34%.. so the graph depicts the real picture of income and household.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to accurately interpret the provided chart. You have misinterpreted the data, confusing income brackets with household numbers and inventing years (2008, 2009) that are not present in the source material. The summary lacks a clear overview of the trends, and the information provided is factually incorrect based on the image. To improve, you must carefully identify the axes and labels of the graph before writing. Ensure you report only the data presented (2007, 2011, 2015) and focus on the main trends, such as the shift in the number of households across different income brackets, rather than speculating on spending habits.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks logical organization. The ideas are presented in a disjointed manner, and there is no clear paragraph structure. The use of cohesive devices is very limited and often mechanical or misused, such as the abrupt transition 'then in 2008'. The progression of information is confusing, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison of data. To improve, group related information into distinct paragraphs (e.g., an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs for specific data points) and use linking words like 'whereas', 'in contrast', or 'similarly' to connect your ideas more effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive, often relying on simple terms like 'increase' or 'number'. There are significant issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'the use of household' and 'household item purchase', which do not accurately describe the data. The lack of precise terminology for describing trends (e.g., 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', 'peaked') limits your ability to convey the information clearly. You should focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary for describing charts, such as 'income brackets', 'proportion', 'significant shift', and 'downward trend', to improve the precision of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The flow chart illustrate'), incorrect verb tenses, and missing articles. Sentence structures are simple and often fragmented, which hinders the flow of the text. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after periods and incorrect capitalization. To reach a higher band, you need to work on basic sentence construction, ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and verb. Additionally, practice using a wider variety of complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses or subordinating conjunctions, while ensuring they are grammatically accurate.

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

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