Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-17

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 given bar graph represents the number of households in the U.S. by their yearly expenditure in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, the number of households earning $100,000 or more increased significantly, while the figures for the $50,000-$99,999 groups remained relatively stable. In contrast, households earning less than $25,000 showed a slight overall increase.

In 2007, around 25 million households earned less than $25,000 annually, while approximately 27 million belonged to the $25,000-$49,999 category. By 2011, both figures had increased, reaching about 29 million and 30 million respectively. However, in 2015, the number of households in these two groups fell slightly, to roughly 28 million and 29 million.

The number of households earning $50,000-$74,999 remained stable at around 21 million in 2007 and 2011, before rising slightly in 2015. Similarly, the $75000-$99,999 group stayed at about 14 million before increasing marginally. Meanwhile, households earning $100,000 or more rose considerably overall.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task and provides a clear overview of the main trends. You successfully identified the significant increase in the highest income bracket and the relative stability of the middle-income groups. However, the report is slightly underdeveloped in its analysis of the final data points. For instance, while you mention the $100,000+ group rose considerably, providing specific figures for 2015 would have strengthened the response. Additionally, there is a minor inaccuracy in the introduction: you refer to the chart as 'yearly expenditure' when the prompt specifies 'annual income'. Accuracy in interpreting the data labels is essential for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group the data effectively. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Similarly', and 'Meanwhile' to link sentences and ideas appropriately. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the different income categories. To reach a higher band, ensure that the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is slightly more seamless, and avoid minor repetition of structure when describing the trends of different groups.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'remained relatively stable', 'increased significantly', and 'rose considerably'. These phrases help convey the trends accurately. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, though some word choices could be more precise. For example, 'yearly expenditure' is an incorrect interpretation of 'annual income'. While this does not impede communication, it affects the precision of your lexical usage. To improve, focus on using more varied synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' to avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'In 2007, around 25 million households earned..., while approximately 27 million belonged to...'. Most sentences are error-free, and the grammar is generally accurate throughout the text. Punctuation is used correctly to separate clauses and list figures. There are no significant grammatical errors that impede communication. To achieve a higher band, try to incorporate a wider variety of complex structures, such as passive voice or conditional clauses, to demonstrate greater grammatical flexibility.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.