Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-14

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 6.5)

The bar chart compares the number of households in the United States measured in millions, across five different annual income groups in 2007,2011, and 2015.

Overall, households earning $100,000 or more experienced the most significant change, despite a slight decline, and became the largest income group in 2015. In contrast, two middle-income categories remained stable throughout the period. The two lowest-income groups followed a similar pattern, rising in 2011 before falling slightly in 2015.

In 2007, around 25 million households earned less than $25,000 per year, while approximately 27 million earned between $25,000 to $49,999. Both figures increased in 2011, reaching about 29 million and 30 million respectively. However, in 2015, they declined to 28 million and 29 million slightly.

Turning to families earning in the range of $50,000 to $74,999, figures remained relatively stable throughout the years at 21 million. Likewise, household obtaining the salary between $75,000 to $99,999 were unchanged over the time by approximately 14 million. As for the groups earning $100,000 and above, the trend rose steadily. In 2007, it began with 29.5 million and then the figure dropped to 27 million. Subsequently, it continued to rise rapidly at 33 million by 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student provides a clear overview of the main trends shown in the chart and makes relevant comparisons across the five income groups and three years. The overview correctly identifies the key shift in the highest income group and notes the stability in middle-income brackets. However, there is a minor contradiction and descriptive error regarding the highest income group: the text states that it 'began with 29.5 million and then the figure dropped to 27 million', which is factually incorrect according to the visual data where the highest group starts around 29.5 million in 2007, drops in 2011, and rises to 33 million in 2015, but the intermediate drop mentioned is slightly misdescribed or awkwardly phrased. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed well with good selection of data points, supporting a solid Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is organized logically with clear progression through an introduction, overview paragraph, and detailed body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group information by income categories. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'Turning to', and 'Likewise'. However, some referencing and cohesion feel slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'household obtaining the salary between' instead of a smoother plural noun phrase, and the transition in the final paragraph. Progression is generally clear throughout, earning a Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic task, utilizing terms like 'compares', 'significant change', 'decline', and 'stable throughout the period'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are occasionally marred by word-choice or collocation errors, such as 'household obtaining the salary' (instead of 'households with a salary' or 'earning') and the awkward modifier at the end of 'declined to 28 million and 29 million slightly'. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the meaning clearly, fitting the Band 6.5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures with frequent error-free sentences. Examples of complex structures include 'The bar chart compares... across five different annual income groups in 2007, 2011, and 2015' and 'while approximately 27 million earned between $25,000 to $49,999'. Grammatical accuracy is generally good, though minor errors appear, such as 'between $25,000 to $49,999' (should be 'between... and'), 'household obtaining' (singular/plural agreement error), and misplaced adverbs like 'declined to 28 million and 29 million slightly'. These errors do not impede communication, supporting a Band 6.5 score.

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