Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-12

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 5.5)

The bar chart compare the numbers of households in the US, measured in millions , across five different annual income in 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Overall , households earning $100,000 or more experienced the most significant change over the years and became the highest group of 2015. Meanwhile $75000 - $99,999 remain steady over the three years. While other figure experienced a minimal change in numbers.

Now more in detail, in 2007 earning less than $25000 there where around 25 million household, while approximately 27 million were in the $25,000 - $49,999. Additionally figures for $50,000 - $74,999 and $75,000 - $99,999 where at 20 million and 18 million respectively. Meanwhile earning $100,000 or more stood at roughly 29 million.

By 2011, number of household earning less then $25000 rose significantly at 28 million. While $25000 - $48,999 also show same pattern and reach at 30 million. While other three income also rises over the years. Meanwhile in 2015, both income slightly increased, while $50,000- $74,999 rise little at 22 million. Additionally the largest value is for $100,000 or more at around 33 million, while $75000 - $99,999 earning remain stable over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart, providing a clear overview, and making relevant comparisons across the three years (2007, 2011, and 2015). Key trends are identified, such as the growth in households earning $100,000 or more and the relative stability of the $75,000 - $99,999 bracket. Data points are cited accurately to support the descriptions, for instance, noting that households earning less than $25,000 rose to 28 million by 2011. While some minor details could be extended further to achieve a higher band, the response easily satisfies the requirements for Task Achievement at a Band 6.5 level, demonstrating a clear understanding of the visual data provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into four distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the years. There is a logical progression of ideas overall, moving from general trends to specific figures. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, with repetitive use of transitional phrases like 'Meanwhile' and 'While' starting multiple sentences consecutively (e.g., 'Meanwhile $75000 - $99,999 remain steady...', 'While other figure experienced...', 'Meanwhile earning $100,000...'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but referencing and connective devices could be managed more flexibly and accurately to elevate the flow of the text. Overall, it demonstrates standard cohesive features fitting a Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to data analysis such as 'households', 'annual income', 'significant change', and 'stable'. There are, however, several lexical and spelling inaccuracies that occur throughout the response, such as 'compare' instead of 'compares', 'figure' instead of 'figures', and typos like 'then' instead of 'than' and 'show' instead of 'showed'. Less common lexical items are attempted, but minor word choice errors occasionally surface. Nonetheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas clearly, aligning with the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinate clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'households earning $100,000 or more experienced...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors in subject-verb agreement and preposition use, such as 'The bar chart compare', 'across five different annual income', 'there where around', and 'rose significantly at 28 million' instead of 'to 28 million'. Punctuation and spacing issues are also present, such as extra spaces and missing articles. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they restrict the response to a Band 5.5 due to the noticeable frequency of grammatical slips.

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

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