Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The bar chart illustrates the number of household in the united State by their annual salay in 2007, 2009 and 2015.

Overall, In 2015 showed the most annual salaries, while the 2011 was least annual salaries over the period.

The number of US househould annual income was in 2007 from about 25 million to about 29 million. while the number of US househould annual income was in 2011 from approximately 29 million to about 27 million. The number of US househould annual income 2007 and 2015 showed the same pattren.

Similarly, The number of US househould annual income was in 2015 from about 27 million to about 33 million. 2015 was the most annual income to US household. In contrast, 2011 was the least annual income to US household.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, containing only 129 words, which results in a necessary penalty under Task Achievement. Furthermore, the student misinterprets the years given in the prompt, referring to 2009 instead of 2011. While an attempt is made to present an overview and mention some features from the chart, the descriptions are confused and inaccurate. For instance, the phrase 'was in 2007 from about 25 million to about 29 million' is incoherent and fails to accurately report the income brackets or specific trends. Key comparisons across the income categories are largely omitted, and the summary remains underdeveloped and imprecise throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs, but the overall logical progression is weak and disjointed. The opening statement contains factual errors regarding the years, and the transitions between sentences are mechanical and repetitive. Phrases such as 'Similarly' and 'In contrast' are misused or applied without logical justification relative to the data being discussed. Referencing is frequently unclear, leaving the reader confused as to which income groups or years are being compared. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal cohesion of the body paragraphs breaks down due to broken sentence structures and lack of clear thematic grouping.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

Vocabulary is very limited and repetitive. The student relies heavily on basic phrasing such as 'number of US household annual income' and 'most annual salaries'. There are noticeable spelling errors, including 'united State', 'salay', 'househould', and 'pattren'. Attempts to use more advanced vocabulary are absent, and word choices are frequently inappropriate, such as referring to household income numbers as 'salaries' or 'annual incomes to US household'. These lexical limitations and errors restrict the precision required for Academic Task 1 reporting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, consisting mostly of simple and heavily flawed sentences. There are frequent, fundamental grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('In 2015 showed', 'the 2011 was least'), missing prepositions, and incomplete sentence fragments ('while the number of US househould annual income was in 2011 from approximately 29 million to about 27 million'). Punctuation and capitalization errors are also present, such as lowercase letters at the beginning of sentences and uncapitalized country names. These errors frequently strain the reader's understanding.

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