Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-17
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 5.0)
The bar chart illustrates the information about the annual income of households in United state in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Units are measured in Millions.
Overall, the the largest number of households in each year are earning 100,000 dollars or more, while the households earning between 75,000 to 99,999 dollars are less in numbers in every year. Furthermore, the households earning between 50,000 to 74,999 dollars are remain same in all years.
Households earning 100,000 dollars or more are below 30 in 2007 and 2011 (respectively 29 millions and 27 millions). The lowest ratio of community almost 15 or less then 15 millions households belongs to earning 75,000 to 99,999 dollars. Whereas the portion of households earn between 50,000 to 74,999 dollars are remain same in each year and that are 21 millions.
People earning less then 25,000 dollars in 2007 are 25 millions, 2011 (around 28 millions) and in 2015 it is about 27 millions. Moreover, individuals belong to society, that earn from 25000 to 49999 are about 26 millions in 2007, 30 millions in 2011 and 29 millions in 2015
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart, providing an overview and specific data points for various income brackets across the years 2007, 2011, and 2015. However, there are notable factual inaccuracies regarding the visual data. For instance, the student states that households earning 100,000 dollars or more are the largest in number in each year, whereas in 2007 the bracket of $25,000–$49,999 (27 million) and less than $25,000 (25 million) are comparable, and in 2011 the $25,000–$49,999 bracket is actually the highest at 29.5 million. Furthermore, some data points are misread or vague (e.g., stating households earning $100,000 or more were '29 millions and 27 millions' in 2007 and 2011, while the chart shows 29.5 and 27.5 respectively). Consequently, the response addresses the task only partially due to these data errors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response has a discernible structure, beginning with an introductory sentence and an overview paragraph, followed by body paragraphs detailing the categories. However, the logical progression is hindered by awkward grouping and repetitive phrasing. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes mechanical, such as 'Furthermore' and 'Whereas'. Additionally, paragraphing is somewhat disjointed; the overview contains specific comparative details that belong in the body paragraphs, and sentences within the body paragraphs lack smooth transitions. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the dangling clause 'and that are 21 millions'. Overall arrangement demonstrates basic coherence, but organizational control is weak.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to finance and demographics, such as 'annual income', 'households', 'bracket', and 'portion'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations, such as 'lowest ratio of community' instead of 'smallest proportion', and 'earn' used instead of 'earning' or 'earned'. Spelling and word-form errors are present, such as 'then' instead of 'than' ('less then 25,000 dollars') and 'remain same' instead of 'remained the same'. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general message, but frequent lexical limitations restrict it to a Band 5.0 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and tense consistency. For example, the student writes 'the households earning between 50,000 to 74,999 dollars are remain same', which mixes present tense verbs incorrectly. Preposition usage is also flawed ('in United state' instead of 'in the United States'). Punctuation is basic, and missing articles ('in United state', 'in Millions') detract from overall accuracy. While communication is not entirely impeded, the high frequency of grammatical and mechanical errors prevents the score from reaching Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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