Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-28

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 4.5)

The given bar chart illustrates the number of households in the U.S. by their annuals income in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

In 2007, 25 million of houses have the income of less than $ 25,000 whereas 27 million of households earns $ 25,000-$ 49,999 whereas exactly 20 million of citizens earns $ 50,000-$ 74,999, whereas 28 million of households earns $ 100,000 or more. The next year is 2011, 28 million of households,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 73 words and stopping abruptly mid-sentence ('The next year is 2011, 2018 million of households'). Because the essay is incomplete, it only partially addresses the task. While the student attempts to report some figures for 2007, an overall trend or summary is entirely missing due to the severe under-length nature of the response. In accordance with the IELTS assessment criteria, severe under-length responses must be penalised under Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

Coherence is severely impaired by the unfinished nature of the text and repetitive sentence structures. The writer heavily overuses the linking word 'whereas' in a single, run-on sentence ('whereas 27 million... whereas exactly 20 million... whereas 28 million'). Paragraphing is incomplete as the text cuts off at the very beginning of what should have been the body paragraph for 2011. There is no clear overall progression or structure established.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. The student makes noticeable lexical and grammatical collocation errors, such as 'annuals income' instead of 'annual income' and '25 million of houses' instead of '25 million houses' or '25 million households'. The range is extremely limited and heavily restricted to the numbers and terms provided directly in the prompt.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Grammatical structures are limited and poorly controlled. The student struggles with subject-verb agreement and quantification structures, writing '25 million of houses have the income' and '27 million of households earns'. The text also contains a major fragment error and fails to form complete complex sentences properly. Punctuation and error frequency heavily impede fluent reading.

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

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