Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The bar chart compares US households across five annual income categories in 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Overall, households earning $100,000 or more represented the largest group in both 2007 and 2015, experiencing the most dramatic growth over the period. Conversely, the $75,000–$99,999 category remained consistently the smallest throughout all three years.

In 2007, roughly 29 million households earned $100,000 or more. After a minor dip to nearly 28 million in 2011, this number surged to peak at approximately 33 million in 2015. Similarly, the lowest income bracket (under $25,000) grew from 25 million to nearly 29 million in 2011, before leveling off at 28 million in 2015. Meanwhile, middle-income categories displayed relative stability. The $25,000–$49,999 range hovered around 27 to 29 million, while the $50,000–$74,999 bracket remained steady at approximately 21 million.

The $75,000–$99,999 bracket saw minimal change, holding at around 14 to 15 million households.

Year 2025 is the most.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and highlighting key features and comparisons from the bar chart. Main trends, such as the growth in households earning $100,000 or more and the relative stability of middle-income brackets, are accurately reported with specific data points. For instance, the student notes that households in the highest income bracket grew from roughly 29 million in 2007 to approximately 33 million in 2015, which matches the visual data closely. However, the final sentence ('Year 2025 is the most.') is an error, as 2025 is not present in the chart and the statement is nonsensical. Despite this minor stray sentence at the end, the task is well-covered.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introduction outlining the chart's purpose, followed by a well-crafted overview paragraph. Body paragraphs logically group the data into high-income, low-income, and middle-income categories, allowing for smooth comparisons. Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader through the data, as seen in transition words like 'Conversely' and 'Meanwhile'. Paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the overall readability of the text, although the final isolated sentence slightly disrupts the structural flow at the very end.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suited to academic report writing. Phrases such as 'represented the largest group', 'experienced the most dramatic growth', and 'displayed relative stability' show a good awareness of style and collocation. Less common vocabulary items are used successfully to describe numerical changes, such as 'surged', 'leveling off', and 'hovered around'. There are no significant spelling or word-choice errors that impede communication, allowing the response to read naturally throughout the body paragraphs.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

The student employs a good variety of complex sentence structures alongside simple forms with a high degree of accuracy. Examples include participial phrases and subordinate clauses, such as 'After a minor dip to nearly 28 million in 2011, this number surged...' and 'While the $25,000–$49,999 range hovered around 27 to 29 million...'. The majority of sentences are error-free, and grammatical control is well maintained. Punctuation is accurate, and punctuation errors are absent, though the stray final sentence is grammatically awkward.

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