Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The Barchart illustrates the number of households in the US by their income in the following years 2007, 2011 and 2015 respectively.

Overall, the number of households earning $100,000 or more increased significantly and became the largest group by 2015. In contrast, the figures for middle-income groups remained relatively stable throughout the period.

In 2007, 25 million of households in U.S earned less than $25,000 followed by 27 million of households earned in between $25,000 - $49,999. The figures for households earning $50,000 - $74,999 and $75,000 - $99,999 were 21 million and 14 million respectively. Meanwhile, approximately 29 million households earned $100,000 or more.

In 2011, the number of households in the lowest income group had risen to 28 million, while the $25,000 - $49,999 group reached 30 million. The figures for the middle income group remained unchanged at around 21 and 14 million. However, the highest income group decreased slightly to 27 million approximately.

In 2015, The households earning $100,000 or more had experienced a drastic improvement making it upto 33 millions making it highest figure on chart. The $25,000-$49,999 group stood around 28 million and other groups remained slightly unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task, providing a clear overview and selecting key data points for comparison. You successfully identified the main trend regarding the highest income group and the stability of others. However, there are some inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, you stated that in 2007, 29 million households earned $100,000 or more, whereas the chart shows approximately 30 million. Additionally, the description of the 2015 data is slightly imprecise. To improve, ensure that data points are transcribed with greater precision from the chart to support your analysis more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that follow a chronological structure. The use of cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Meanwhile', and 'However' helps to guide the reader through the information. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different years. While the flow is generally good, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on varying your cohesive devices and ensuring that the progression between sentences is smoother and less reliant on simple sequence markers.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'drastic improvement', 'relatively stable', and 'income groups'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as '25 million of households' (should be '25 million households') and 'making it upto 33 millions' (should be '33 million'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the use of vocabulary from being considered 'flexible' or 'sophisticated'. Expanding your range of reporting verbs and adverbs would enhance the precision of your descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'The Barchart illustrates... in the following years 2007, 2011 and 2015 respectively' (the use of 'respectively' is redundant here) and 'The households earning... had experienced a drastic improvement making it upto 33 millions'. The pluralization of 'millions' when preceded by a number is a recurring error. While the meaning is always clear and the errors do not significantly impede communication, the frequency of these minor inaccuracies keeps the score in the 6.0 range.

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