Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)
The following bar graph illustrates the number of households in the US by their yearly income taken at a gap of 3 years in 2007 ,2011 and 2015.
Overall, the annual income of most of the US household have increased except for the people who earned between $50,000-$74,999 whose annual earnings were constant throughout all three years.
Detailed analysis of the graph showcases the rise and fall in the total number of US household who earned less than $25,000 as it increased from 25 million household in 2007 to 29 million household till 2011 but felt slightly reaching 28 million household at the end of 2015. The same goes for people who earned between $25,000 to $49,999 as it grew from 27 million household in 2007 to 30 million household in 2011 but declined nominally reaching 29 million household in 2015.
On the other hand, the number of people who earned between $75,000 to $99,999 had seen a decline in 2011 as compared to 2007 reaching 13 million from 14 million but grew up unexpectedly in 2015 reaching 15 million household. The people who earned more than $100,000 also follow the same trend reaching 33 million household till the end of 2015 while the number of US household who earned between $50,000 to $74,999 remained constant at 21 million in all 3 years.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response covers all parts of the task and provides a clear overview of the main trends. You successfully identified the key features, such as the growth in lower-income brackets and the stability of the middle-income group. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate; you stated that 'most' households increased, but the data shows mixed trends across different income brackets. To improve, ensure your summary accurately reflects the data provided. The reporting of figures is generally accurate, and you have made relevant comparisons between the years, which satisfies the requirements for a Band 7 score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on different income groups. Cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand' and 'The same goes for' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be smoother. For example, the connection between the sentences in the third paragraph could be improved to avoid repetitive phrasing like 'million household'. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'showcases', 'declined nominally', and 'constant'. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'grew up unexpectedly' (which is slightly informal) and the repetitive use of 'household' instead of 'households' (plural). While you attempt to use more precise language, some phrasing remains basic. To reach a higher band, focus on using more varied synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' and ensure correct pluralization of nouns when discussing statistics.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'most of the US household have increased' should be 'households have') and tense consistency. You also have some minor punctuation errors, such as the spacing around commas. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for plural forms and verb agreement will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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