Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
Overall the bar chart describes the number of households in United States(US) by their annual income. It has three different years of timeline. The number households are mentioned in millions. By a bird eye view, it seems that the households' income has been increased by the time.
On the far left side, there are bars for the year 2007, which depicts that near 30 million of households in US had about 100 thousand dollars or more of annual income. While the households with 75 thousand to 99 thousand dollars of annual income were the one who remained lowest in numbers throughout.
In the year 2011, there was an increase in number of those households who had less than 25 thousand dollars of annual income. So is the case with households having 25,000 to 49,999 dollars of annual income.
The year 2015 showed a significant increase in number of those households who have 0.1 million dollars or more of their annual income with approximately 33 million of households under this cap.
The bar chart shows the annual income patterns of people in United States in a well organized way.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response provides a general overview and identifies some key features, but it fails to provide a comprehensive summary. While it mentions the highest income bracket, it neglects to provide a balanced overview of the trends across all income categories. The data selection is somewhat selective, focusing on specific years rather than comparing the overall trends across the three periods effectively. To improve, ensure that you describe the main trends for all categories rather than just highlighting isolated points. The overview provided is also quite vague; it would be better to specify which income groups saw the most significant changes over the period.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. For example, the transition 'In the year 2011' is a standard way to start a paragraph, but the internal flow between sentences could be smoother. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'So is the case with...', which lacks precision. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider range of linking words and ensure that the progression of ideas between sentences is more logical and less reliant on simple chronological listing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. Phrases like 'By a bird eye view' are idiomatic errors, and 'under this cap' is slightly unnatural in this context. There is also some repetition of basic terms like 'number of households' and 'annual income'. To improve, aim to use more precise reporting verbs and nouns, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'proportion', and avoid repeating the same phrases throughout the response. The range is sufficient to convey the main points but lacks sophistication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. For instance, 'The number households are mentioned' is missing a preposition, and 'the households with... were the one who remained lowest' contains subject-verb agreement and pronoun errors. Additionally, 'income has been increased' is an incorrect use of the passive voice. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly improve the clarity of your writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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