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 households who earned less than $25,000 as it increased from 25 million households in 2007 to 29 million households till 2011 but felt slightly reaching 28 million households at the end of 2015. The same goes for people who earned between $25,000 to $49,999 as it grew from 27 million households in 2007 to 30 million households in 2011 but declined nominally reaching 29 million households 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 households from 14 million households but grew up unexpectedly in 2015 reaching 15 million households. The people who earned more than $100,000 also follow the same trend reaching 33 million households till the end of 2015 while the number of US households who earned between $50,000 to $74,999 remained constant at 21 million in all 3 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key features of the chart, including the trends for different income brackets. You successfully identified the main trends, such as the growth in the lowest and highest income groups and the stability of the $50,000-$74,999 category. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate; you stated that most incomes increased, but the data shows that the lowest income group actually decreased between 2011 and 2015, and the $25,000-$49,999 group also declined in that period. A more precise summary would highlight the overall growth in the highest bracket while noting the fluctuations in the lower and middle brackets. The data points are generally accurate, but ensure your summary reflects the entire period rather than just the initial rise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the lower income brackets to the higher ones. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand' and 'The same goes for' to link ideas effectively. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be smoother. For example, the phrase 'The same goes for' is a bit informal for an academic report. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the information is presented in a way that is easy to follow, which supports a clear overall structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

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 'taken at a gap of 3 years' (which is a bit awkward). While you successfully use some less common vocabulary, there is room for more precise academic phrasing to describe trends. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but it lacks the sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the annual income of most of the US household have increased' (subject-verb agreement error: 'households' and 'has') and 'felt slightly' (likely a typo for 'fell'). Additionally, there are some punctuation issues, such as the spacing around commas. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for small slips in tense and word form.

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.