Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-18

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 4.5)

the chart below show us about the number of households in us by their annual income in 2007, 2011, and 2015. so in 2007 less then 25000$ are around 25 millions of household and $25000-$49999 and around 27 millions of households and $50000-$74999 and around 21 millions of households and $75000-$99999 are not more then 14 millions of household and then $[redacted phone] or more then that are the higest around 29 millions of household. as we can see in the year of 2011 there are less then $25000 is the higher then the past year 2007 and that is around 28 millions of household. and $25000-$49999 is also higher then the past around 29 millions of household. and $[redacted phone]9 are same in 2007 and 2011 22 millions of household. and $75000-$99999 are around 13 millions of household. $[redacted phone] or more around 27 millions of household. in year 2015 less then $25000 is 26 millions of household. $25000-$49999 around 28 millions of household. $[redacted phone]9 around 21 millions of household. $75000-$99999 anround 15 millions of household. and at the end $[redacted phone] or more is higest in the chart around 33 millions of household.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart across all three years (2007, 2011, and 2015) and for all income categories. However, the response lacks a clear overall summary or overview of the main trends. Furthermore, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data, such as stating that households earning '$50000-74999' are '22 millions' in 2011 when the chart shows 21 million, and missing the overarching comparison that high-income households ($100,000 or more) experienced a significant rebound and ended up as the highest group by 2015. Because the ideas are presented mechanically as a list of figures without a synthesized overview, it fits best at Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The text suffers from a major structural flaw: it is written as one single, extremely long block paragraph without any paragraph breaks. Cohesive devices are minimal, highly repetitive, and overly simplistic, relying almost exclusively on coordinating conjunctions like 'and' and repetitive transitional phrases like 'as we can see' or 'at the end'. There is no clear logical progression or introduction and conclusion structure. Referencing is weak and mechanical, causing the reader to have to trace a continuous string of data points without clear signposting. This level of cohesion and paragraphing aligns with Band 4.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently reusing simple words and phrases such as 'millions of household', 'around', and 'higher'. There are noticeable errors in word forms and prepositions, such as 'less then' instead of 'less than', and 'higest' instead of 'highest'. The range of vocabulary is limited and inadequate for expressing precise statistical trends or comparisons, though communication of the basic figures is generally maintained. This falls under the descriptors for Band 4.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. The majority of sentences are simple sentences strung together with 'and', or poorly formed run-on sentences with incorrect punctuation (e.g., lowercase letters at the start of sentences and after periods, missing capitalisation for years and abbreviations like 'us'). There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('less then 25000$ are around 25 millions') and incorrect comparative structures ('higher then'). These frequent errors and the lack of complex structures place this at Band 4.

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