Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-02
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 pie chart illustrates the amount of households in the US measured in millions among their annual income during the period of 2007, 2011 and 2015.
Overall, the highest proportion of households were earing more than $100,000 annually making it the highest figure in period although it decreased in 2011. However, workers that earned between $75,000 and $99,999 were considered the lowest population which remained approximately constant .
In 2007, 29 million of households earned $100,000 or above making it the highest population before it slipped to 27 million in 2011 and rose again to approximately 33 million in 2015. Moreover, 27 and 25 million of household were classed next by earing $25,000 to $49,999 and less than $25,000 annually, these two were rose together which overtaken the $100,000 as the first and second largest population of households .
Furthermore, workers how earned $50,000,
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the task achievement score. Furthermore, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly mid-sentence ('Furthermore, workers how earned $50,000,'). While you have identified some main features, such as the trends for the highest income bracket, the analysis is cut short, preventing a full overview or a complete comparison of all categories. To improve, ensure you complete the task by providing a full summary of all data points and checking that your response meets the length requirement. The lack of a concluding summary or full analysis of the remaining categories means the task is only partially addressed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay uses some cohesive devices, such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'Moreover', to link ideas. However, the progression of information is hindered by the incomplete nature of the text. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is left unfinished, which disrupts the logical flow. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the sentence 'these two were rose together which overtaken the $100,000', where the grammatical structure makes it difficult to follow the comparison being made. To improve, focus on ensuring each paragraph is fully developed and that cohesive devices are used to connect complete, grammatically sound ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'annually', and 'approximately constant'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'earing' instead of 'earning' and 'amount of households' instead of 'number of households'. The phrase 'these two were rose together' is also non-standard. While the range is sufficient to convey the basic meaning, the errors and the limited variety of vocabulary prevent a higher score. Expanding your range of reporting verbs and noun phrases related to data trends would be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'workers how earned' (should be 'who'), 'these two were rose together' (should be 'these two rose together'), and 'which overtaken' (should be 'which overtook'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the run-on sentence structure in the second paragraph. The incomplete final sentence further demonstrates a lack of control over sentence structure. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of relative clauses.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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