Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-21

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 demonstrates the information regarding the various numbers of people residing in US households in million of numbers, in accordance to their annual income in the year 2007, 2011 and 2015 respectively.

Starting with the ascending order, in the year 2007 the highest and lowest number of households around 29 and 14 millions were occupied by those having income of 100,000 or more and between 75 - 99,999 Dollars annually. 27 million residents were those who earn 25 - 49,999 Dollars keeping the second majority, followed by 21 million hoseholds kept by the people earning 50 - 74,999 Dollars and it remain consistent in the next following years i.e 2011 and 2015. Finally the third majors were earning less than 25,000 Dollars annually with the residence availability upto 25 million houses.

Similarly, when we move toward the year 2011, the first major were earning between 25 - 49,999 Dollars occupying 30 million households while the second major were earning less than 25,000 Dollars, having 29 million of homes which is quite a different trend in comparison to the year 2007. Furthermore, 27 million households were taken by those who were earning 100,000 Dollars or more than that. Consequently, a limited trend in 2015 has been shifted towards those who earn more than 100,000 or this were in the highest number followed by those earning between 25 - 49,999 Dollars. The least households were taken by those who were earning between the 75 - 99,999 Dollars. Both in 2015 and 2011, 21 million residential places was taken up by those who were earning between 50 - 74,999 Dollars while 15 million places was occupied by the people earning between 75 - 99,999 Dollars

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by reporting figures for US households by annual income across the three given years. However, the response struggles significantly with data interpretation and clarity. For instance, the opening overview confuses households with individuals ('numbers of people residing in US households in million of numbers'). Furthermore, the grouping and reporting of data in the body paragraphs are disorganized, making it difficult to follow the main features and trends over time. While some data points from the chart are mentioned, such as the 21 million households for the 50,000–74,999 income bracket, the overall selection lacks a clear analytical structure or a cohesive summary of the most prominent shifts, such as the significant rise in the highest income bracket by 2015. This places the response in the lower-middle band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression and overall coherence are heavily disrupted by clumsy transitions and confusing phrasing (e.g., 'Starting with the ascending order', 'Finally the third majors'). Cohesive devices are either misused or applied mechanically, creating a disjointed reading experience. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal structure of the body paragraphs fails to group related data logically—mixing comparisons across years and income brackets haphazardly. Referencing is frequently unclear, making it hard to determine which year or income category the student is discussing. This warrants a band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a limited and repetitive range of vocabulary. There are numerous awkward phrasings and incorrect word choices, such as 'million of numbers', 'residence availability upto', 'first major', and 'residential places was taken up'. Some mathematical or statistical terms are used incorrectly, leading to unnatural expressions. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical control is weak throughout, preventing precise or flexible communication. This performance aligns with band 5.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

A mix of simple and attempted complex sentence structures is present, but grammatical accuracy is consistently low. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'it remain consistent', 'residential places was taken up'), prepositions ('in accordance to'), and missing articles. Awkward sentence construction and run-on structures frequently obscure the intended meaning. Although communication is not entirely broken down, the high frequency of errors across most sentences prevents the response from reaching a higher band.

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

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