Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The bar graph illustrates the number of US households measured in millions by annual income.

overall, the households earning $100,000 or more are in the largest category in 2007 and 2015, while the lowest propostion accross the entire period was found in the $75,000-$99,999 income bracket.

in 2007, the largest category and high earning groups comprised approx. 29.5 millions. Then 2011, it slightly slided to 28.5 millions and in 2015 it peaked with around 33 millions of households.household with less than $25000 increased from 25 millions in 2007 to nearly 28.5 millions in 2011, and it ended with around 27.5 millions by 2015.

a similar trend was visible in the $25000-$49,999 category, it had around 27.5 millions of household in 2007 followed to 30 millions in 2011, where it slided a little in 2015 with around 28 millions

households earnings between $50,000-$74,999 had a same number across the whole 3 years- 2007, 2011 and 2015 with around 20 to 21 millions, while the $75000-$99,999 group remains at the lowes, sitting steadily around 14 to 15 millions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing an overview of the key trends and reporting relevant data from the bar chart. Main features, such as the dominance of the highest income bracket and the steady nature of the middle-income group, are clearly identified. However, there are minor inaccuracies in the reported figures when compared to the source chart (for instance, stating that households earning $100,000 or more peaked at 'around 33 millions' in 2015 when it was closer to 33.5, and minor slips in other categories). Despite these slight discrepancies, the overview is clear and the general comparisons are accurate enough to meet the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0. Because the information is generally well-selected and reported, it aligns well with Band 6 descriptors for coverage, though accurate precision keeps it slightly below a higher tier.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall progression and attempts to group data logically by income categories. However, the paragraphing is severely hindered by the lack of capitalization at the beginning of sentences (e.g., 'overall, the households...', 'in 2007...', 'a similar trend...'). While cohesive devices like 'Then', 'while', and 'followed to' are utilized, some linking expressions feel slightly awkward or mechanical. The sequencing of ideas allows the reader to follow the main trends, but the formatting issues with capitalization and punctuation distract from the overall cohesion, placing it firmly at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'category', 'income bracket', 'trend', and 'peaked'. There are, however, noticeable word-choice and spelling errors, such as 'propostion' instead of 'proportion', 'accross' instead of 'across', 'slided' instead of 'slid', and 'lowes' instead of 'lowest'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success. These errors do not impede communication because the reader can easily deduce the intended meaning, but they prevent the score from reaching higher bands. This performance fits the Band 6.0 descriptors well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, there is a persistent lack of basic punctuation and capitalization control, with multiple sentences starting with lowercase letters ('overall, the households...', 'in 2007...', 'a similar trend...'). Grammatical errors occur with verb forms and prepositions, such as 'household with less than' (missing plural/article) and 'followed to 30 millions'. While these errors rarely impede overall comprehension, their frequency across the short text demonstrates inconsistent control over basic grammatical conventions, justifying a Band 5.5 score.

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

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