Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-26

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 chart demonstrates the figures of homes in the America with respect to their salary per annum in three different years.

Overall, households earning $100k or more take the lead in 2007 and in 2015, whereas the value dropped slightly in the middle year. People receiving $25k-$50k were at top in 2011, while they ranked at number 2 in the starting and ending year, followed by less than $25k.

In 2007, households earning $100k or more were the highest contributors with about 29.5 million, followed by small drop in numbers to reach 28millions in the succeeding year before reaching a peak at 33 million in 2015. In addition, homes with income $25-50k started from 27 million, reached the highest proportion(30 million) in 2011 among all the categories and finally fell to 28 million in the final year.

Further, less than $25k income began with just over 25 million, escalated to 28.5 million before a minor drop to reach 28 million. On the other hand, homes with $50k- 74k income remained stablized at about 21 million. $75K-100K rem

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student covers the main trends in the bar chart, identifying key changes across the three years for several income brackets. However, the response is incomplete, cutting off mid-sentence at the end, and several figures contain minor inaccuracies (e.g., stating households earning $100k or more reached '33 million in 2015' when the chart shows 33.5, and describing the drop in 2011 as '28millions' instead of 27.5). Despite these flaws and the abrupt ending, an overview is provided in the second paragraph, and major data points are selected for reporting. This performance aligns best with Band 5.5, rounded to 5.0 for incomplete task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, featuring an introductory sentence, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs dedicated to specific data points. However, logical progression is disrupted by the abrupt ending of the essay, which terminates mid-sentence. Cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Overall', 'In addition', 'On the other hand'), but referencing is occasionally loose or mechanical. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final fragment prevents full control of textual flow. This warrants a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common collocations and vocabulary such as 'per annum', 'contributors', 'proportion', and 'escalated'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'figures of homes in the America', 'salary per annum', and 'remained stablized'. Word choices are sometimes repetitive, and spelling/form issues like 'stablized' appear. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general message, placing it at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing dependent clauses and comparative structures. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'were at top in 2011, while they ranked at number 2 in the starting and ending year', missing articles ('with small drop'), and the unfinished sentence at the end. While these errors do not completely obscure meaning, their frequency prevents the text from reaching a higher band. Control of grammar is inconsistent, supporting a Band 5.5 score.

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

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