Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-18
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 below illustrates the Household annual salary in the US in three different years 2007, 2011, 2015.
On the one hand, the 29 million US household's annual income was $100,000 million or more in 2007. Moreover, 26 million household's annual salary was $25,000-$49,999 million. And lowest such as only 14 million US household's annual salary was $75,000-$99,999 million.
After four years, 30 million of US household's annual salary was $25,000-$49,999 million. And, 28 million household's annual salary was less than $25,000 million. Moreover, 13 million household's annual income was $75,000-$99,999 million. 26 million household's annual salary was $100,000 or more in million in 2011.
In 2015, $100,000 or more annual income taken household's sharply increased compared to the in other years. And $ 75,000-$99,999 salary category was same in three years. Furthermore, 26 million household's annual salary was $25,000-$49,999 in million.
Overall, mostly households earn money were sharply increased in 2015. Moreover, US pay low salary of households in 2007.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of the data, but the presentation is inconsistent and contains significant inaccuracies. For example, the student incorrectly states that $100,000 million was the income level, which is a misinterpretation of the chart's units. While the response attempts to compare the years, the lack of clear data selection and the inclusion of confusing figures (e.g., '100,000 or more in million') hinder the clarity of the report. The overview is present but lacks precision, failing to highlight the most significant trends effectively. To improve, focus on accurately transcribing the data points and grouping them logically to show clear trends rather than listing figures year by year.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the chronological structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'On the one hand' are used without a corresponding 'On the other hand' to balance the argument. Additionally, the transition between sentences is sometimes abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the summary is vague. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus would significantly enhance the flow of the writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive, relying heavily on basic phrasing like 'annual salary' and 'household'. There are also persistent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'taken household's' and 'mostly households earn money'. The misuse of units (adding 'million' to dollar amounts) indicates a lack of precision in reporting numerical data. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'experienced a significant rise', and ensure that units of measurement are used correctly.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response relies on simple sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include incorrect word order ('US pay low salary of households'), missing articles, and subject-verb agreement errors (e.g., 'salary category was same'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the placement of currency symbols and numbers. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors is high enough to cause some difficulty for the reader. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like article usage and pluralization would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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