Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-11

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 given bar chart provides information about the number of households by income during the period from 2007 to 2015 every four years in the US.

Overall, the number of incomes looked steady without any dramatic rise in each year. For example, at the beginning the incomes looked average, and did not have a very big difference, except $75,000-$99,999. However, at the end, the number of households did not significantly change.

In 2007, the number of households whose income was less than $25,000 was 25 million, and after 4 years the bar rose steadily to about 28 million. However, the number of families in 2015 dropped to over 26 million. The number of households with income from $25,000 to $49,999, in 2007 was over 26 million. After some amount of time, the bar rose to about 29 million families, and by the end of the period, it decreased to over 27 million.

At the beginning, the number of households whose income was from $50,000 to $74,999, was much lower than the other two incomes and had over 20 million. After 4 years it rose steadily to 22 million, and after another 4 years it fell to 20 million again. In addition, the number of families with an income from $75,000 to $99,999 was the smallest in comparison with the other 3 incomes, In 2007 it had over 14 million families, and did not grow until 2015. At the end it increased to about 15 million. In contrast, the number of households with an income from $100,000 and more, was the highest in comparison with other incomes. In 2007 it had over 29 million families, but in 2014 it had decreased to over 27 million. And in 2015 it experienced the sharp increase to over 34 million families.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task and provides a clear overview of the data. You have successfully identified the main trends and made relevant comparisons between the income brackets. However, the overview is slightly vague; phrases like 'looked steady' and 'did not have a very big difference' lack the precision expected in an academic report. To improve, ensure your overview highlights the most significant trends, such as the overall dominance of the highest income bracket by 2015. While you have reported the data accurately, ensure that your summary of the 'main features' is more analytical rather than just listing figures for each category.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on specific income groups. There is a clear progression of ideas throughout the response. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'In addition', 'In contrast', and 'However', which help the flow of information. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the referencing could be smoother. For instance, the phrase 'After some amount of time' is imprecise and slightly awkward. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that the relationship between sentences is more explicit would help elevate the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. You use terms like 'dramatic rise', 'significantly change', and 'sharp increase' appropriately. However, there is a tendency to repeat basic phrasing such as 'number of households' and 'number of families'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied synonyms or paraphrasing techniques to describe the data, such as 'the proportion of households' or 'the figures for these income brackets'. Some word choices are slightly informal or imprecise, such as 'looked average' or 'did not grow'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the number of incomes looked steady' (incomes don't look steady, the figures do) and 'in 2014 it had decreased' (the data is for 2015). Punctuation is generally fine, but there are minor issues with comma usage, such as the comma splice in 'the smallest in comparison with the other 3 incomes, In 2007'. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for subject-verb agreement will help improve your accuracy.

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

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