Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-30

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)

The bar chart illustrates the annual income of the number of US households in million during the period of 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, it is clear that the number of households 100,000 or more remained the significant with slight fluctuation in between. While households 75,000-99,999 remained the lowest category throughout the period.

In 2007, 100,000 or more households in US was stood at 29 million, which slightly decreased to 27 million in 2011 before rising again to approximately 33 million by the end. Meanwhile, less than 25,000 million households was at 25 million in 2007, it then rose to 29 million by 2011, after that fell to 28 million by 2015. Similarly, 25,000-49,000 million households had 27 million in 2007, grew to 30 million in 2011 overtaking the 100,000 households.

Furthermore, the households 50,000-74,999 experienced no change during the period. However, 75,000-99,999 households fluctuated minor in 2011 and remained at 15 million in the end 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response provides a summary of the main features, but there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For example, you state 'less than 25,000 million households', which is a misinterpretation of the chart labels (the categories are income brackets, not counts). Additionally, the claim that the 50,000-74,999 category experienced 'no change' is factually incorrect based on the provided data. While you attempt to identify trends, the lack of precision in reading the axes and the mislabeling of categories hinder the clarity of the report. To improve, ensure you carefully distinguish between the income brackets and the number of households.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'Similarly', and 'Furthermore' to link ideas. However, the progression of information is sometimes confusing due to the data inaccuracies mentioned in the task achievement section. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on ensuring that the logical progression of your points is supported by accurate data, which will make your comparisons more coherent and easier for the reader to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fluctuation', 'approximately', and 'overtaking'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'remained the significant' (should be 'remained the most significant') and the repeated misuse of 'million' when referring to income brackets. These errors occasionally cause confusion. To improve, focus on using precise terminology for data reporting and ensure that your collocations are natural. Expanding your range of descriptive verbs and adverbs would also help to better convey the trends shown in the chart.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. Examples include '100,000 or more households in US was stood at' (subject-verb agreement and passive voice error) and 'fluctuated minor' (adverb/adjective confusion). There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of tense when describing past data points to improve your accuracy.

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

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