Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-23
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 graph illustrates the number of households in United States by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015. The unit measured in millions.
Overall, the figure calculated in five different packages of household workers. The proportion of $75000 to $99900 accounted the lowest over the period, while the people spent 1 lakh dollars in 2007 and 2015.
In 2007, less then $25000 had been spent on 25 million community, whereas it increased in year 2011 and 2015, accounted for 28 and 29 millions respectively. However, the proportion of $75000- $99999 was relatively remained similar at around 14 million to 15 million in all the years. The people spent $50000-$74999 from their annual income, approximately 22 millions in year 2007, 2011 and 2015.
In contrast, the proportion of income used of dollar $25000-$49999 was comparatively second highest in all the packages. In 2007, it was around 22 million household which was inclined by 30 millions in 2011, apparently it slightly plummeted by 2015, which experienced 29 million. Moreover, the highest $[redacted phone] or more dollars produce on house worker, accounted for 33 million, in comparison in all the packages.
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 cover the main features of the chart, including general trends and specific categories such as the lowest and highest income brackets. However, there are significant factual misinterpretations and confusion regarding the data. For instance, the writer confuses household income categories with household spending and number of workers ('packages of household workers', 'people spent 1 lakh dollars'). Furthermore, many quoted figures are inaccurate according to the source chart (e.g., stating that the $25,000–$49,999 category reached 30 million in 2011 when the chart shows 29.5, and misreading other data points). While an overview is attempted, the confusion over the nature of the data (income versus spending) and the frequent inaccuracies in reporting figures pull the score down to Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is divided into logical paragraphs with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs discussing specific income brackets. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 2007', 'However', and 'In contrast' are employed to structure the text. Nevertheless, referencing and logical progression are frequently hindered by confusing phrasing and unclear links between sentences. For example, sentences like 'Moreover, the highest $100000 or more dollars produce on house worker...' lack cohesive clarity and disrupt the flow of information. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion is faulty due to lexical confusion, placing this criterion at Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical range is quite limited and frequently inappropriate for an academic task. The student fundamentally misunderstands the core topic of the chart, referring to income categories as 'packages of household workers' and household income as money 'spent'. There are also awkward phrasings such as 'people spent 1 lakh dollars' and 'produce on house worker'. While some basic quantitative vocabulary is used ('proportion', 'millions', 'respectively'), the misuse of vocabulary related to the prompt severely impedes accurate communication, resulting in a Band 4.5 score, rounded to 5.0 for adequate control of basic terms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including introductory subordinate clauses ('In 2007, less then $25000 had been spent...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the response, featuring frequent errors such as tense confusion ('had been spent', 'was inclined by', 'plummeted by 2015, which experienced'), missing prepositions, and awkward passive/active confusions ('the figure calculated in five different packages'). Punctuation is basic. Because the frequency of grammatical errors causes noticeable difficulty for the reader and distorts meaning in places, the performance aligns with Band 5.0.
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