Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-05

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 bar chart demonstrates the annual earnings of a certain number of American families in dollars in three different years: 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Overall, the number of families, which have earned 50,000 to 74,999 dollars, remained the same in all the given years, while the number of all other groups has fluctuated.

In all three years, just above 20 million households had an annual income from 50 thousand to less than 75 thousand. However, families earning $100,000 or more yearly increased from approximately 27 million to almost 30 million from 2011 to 2015, which is assumed to be the largest share according to the chart. A relatively similar pattern can also be found in the $75,000 to $99,999 earning households group. This is the smallest group in terms of number of households, which remained around 15 million in all the given years.

Apart from the abovementioned groups, the number of families with less than 25 thousand yearly income increased in 2011 to just under 30 million and then decreased slightly. A similar trend can also be found in income group 25 thousand to just under 50 thousand.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the chart, identifying key trends across the three years. However, the analysis is somewhat inconsistent. For instance, you mention that the $50,000–$74,999 group 'remained the same', but the data shows slight variations. Additionally, the description of the $100,000+ group as the 'largest share' is a good observation, but the report lacks a clear, comparative overview of the total distribution. To reach a higher band, ensure that all data points mentioned are accurate and that the 'main features' are clearly highlighted in the overview rather than just buried in the body paragraphs.

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 generally clear, and you use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Apart from', and 'A similar trend' to link your points. However, the referencing is occasionally slightly mechanical, and the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure allows the reader to follow the information without difficulty. Further use of a wider variety of cohesive devices would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fluctuated', 'annual earnings', and 'households'. There is some attempt to use less common vocabulary, though some phrasing is slightly repetitive (e.g., 'number of families' and 'number of households'). The word choice is generally accurate and does not impede communication. To improve, try to incorporate more precise synonyms for 'increase' or 'decrease' and avoid repeating the same sentence structures when describing trends. Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'the number of families, which have earned', where the relative clause is slightly awkward. Punctuation is generally correct, and the errors present do not cause any difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to use a wider variety of complex structures with more consistent accuracy. The current control is good, but more sophisticated sentence combining would demonstrate a higher level of grammatical flexibility.

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

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