Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-19
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 given bar chart depicts the annual income of number of households in the US for the period of 2007, 2011 and 2015.
Overall, the highest money earned by the households was in 2015, whereas, in 2011 the least money was earned during 2007.
It can be vividly seen that in terms of bar chart, In 2007, 25 millions people had earned less then 25000 dollars. while,almost 27 millions household income accounted for above from $25000. the annual income of 30 millions residents was more then $[redacted phone]. only approximately 14million people earned between $75000 to $99999 in same year.
Moving towards the rest of the information, Households earning for 27 millions earned more then $[redacted phone] in 2011 and this figure increased to almost 33 millions in 2015. further in case of less than $25000 earning in 2011 and 2015 was 28 millions and 27 millions respectively. However, the the number of household earned between $50000 to $74999 remianed same as in both years for near about 22 millions.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the prompt by reporting figures from the bar chart, but the response falls short of fully satisfying the criteria for higher bands. While some main features are captured, the overview is confused and inaccurate (e.g. stating that the highest and least money was earned in specific years globally, rather than focusing on the distribution of household income categories). Furthermore, there are numerous inaccuracies in the data cited: for instance, the student states that in 2007 '30 millions residents was more then $100000', whereas the actual figure was 29.5 million, and misinterprets other categories. Overall, the information is partially presented, but data reporting lacks precision and the overview fails to summarise the main trends clearly. This places the response firmly at Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organized into paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is frequently hindered by awkward linking and abrupt transitions, such as 'It can be vividly seen that in terms of bar chart' and 'Moving towards the rest of the information'. Cohesive devices are used mechanically and sometimes inaccurately (e.g. 'while,almost', 'further in case of'). Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks smooth flow and clear referencing. Because the overall arrangement provides a basic framework of a report despite faulty cohesion, it aligns with a Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms like 'earned', 'people', 'households', and 'money'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'highest money earned by the households', 'residents was more then', and 'household earned between'. Attempts to use less common phrasing are limited and result in unnatural expressions. Spelling errors are minimal, but word choices often cause slight ambiguity for the reader. This vocabulary range and accuracy corresponds to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, including missing capitalisation after periods, incorrect prepositions ('in terms of bar chart', 'above from $25000'), subject-verb agreement issues ('number of household earned'), and frequent spelling/punctuation slips ('then' instead of 'than', lack of spaces after commas). These errors cause frequent strain for the reader, matching the profile for Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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