Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-12

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 bar chart illustrates the amount of households in the US by their annual income in three given years namely 2007, 2011 and 2015. These bar holds 5 types of data and different color shows different data.

In the initial year of 2007 households those earned less than $25000 were almost 25 million. Then $25000-$49999 were 27 million, $50000-$74999 were almost 21 million ,$75000-$99999 were almost 15 million and $[redacted phone] or more were 30 million accordingly. In the coming year of 2011 the amount expanded a bit in some sectors but declined in others. the numbers were 29 million, 30 million, 21 million, 14 million and 28 million accordingly. In the last year of the given chart the data has even more fluctuation. The amounts were 28 million, 29 million, 21 million, 15 million and a surge in $[redacted phone] or more were a solid amount of 34 million accordingly. The chart demonstrates that the amount of income really does fluctuate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features of the chart. However, the presentation of data is overly mechanical, relying on a list-like approach that lacks analytical synthesis. While the key trends are mentioned, the comparison between categories is weak. For instance, the report would be stronger if it grouped the income brackets or highlighted the most significant changes rather than simply listing figures for each year. The overview is also quite limited, failing to clearly summarize the overall trends across the period. To improve, focus on grouping data points and identifying broader patterns rather than just transcribing the numbers.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into three paragraphs, which is a logical structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat repetitive. The use of cohesive devices is limited and often mechanical, such as the repetitive use of 'accordingly' at the end of sentences, which does not always fit the context. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition between the years could be smoother. To achieve a higher band, you should use a wider variety of linking words and phrases to connect your ideas more naturally and improve the flow between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision expected at higher levels. You rely on basic terms like 'amount' and 'data' repeatedly. While you attempt to use some descriptive words like 'fluctuation' and 'surge', the overall lexical range is limited. There are also some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'amount of households' (number of households is more accurate). To improve, try to incorporate more varied vocabulary related to trends and statistics, such as 'proportion', 'category', 'experienced', or 'remained stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'These bar holds' (subject-verb agreement) and 'households those earned' (incorrect relative clause usage). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and inconsistent capitalization. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining sentence structure will help improve your accuracy and range.

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

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