Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-29

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 6.0)

The given bar chart compares the annual revenue of households in the USA between 2007 and 2015, including the year 2011.

To begin with, household earings between $25,000 and $49,999 fluctuated throughout these years, with around 27 million households in this range in 2007, rising to 30 million in 2011, before decreasing of about 28 million by 2015. For household earnings between $50,000 and $74,999, there was little to no change over the period, with figures remaining relativelty constant. Likewise, households in the $75,000to $99,999 range experienced a slight increase, through there was a minor dip in 2011 at almost 18 million.

In contrast, the number of households with an income of less than $25,000 increased from 25 million in 2007 to nearly 30 million in 2011, followed by a slight decrease to 28 million in 2015. The highest income group, earning $100,000 or more, showed the most signifcant growth, climbing from around 30 million in 2007 to approximately 34 million in 2015, despite a little decline in 2011.

Overall, the proportion of household earning between $50,000 and $99,999 remained relatively stable, while both the lowest inome category and the highest income category showed upward trends.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting key features and comparisons from the bar chart. Main trends are identified correctly, such as the growth in the highest income bracket and the fluctuations in lower categories. However, there are a few minor data inaccuracies in the body paragraphs; for instance, the student states that households in the $75,000 to $99,999 range peaked or dipped at 'almost 18 million', which does not align accurately with the visual data where this group hovered around 14 to 15 million. Despite these minor discrepancies in data reporting, the response successfully addresses the prompt requirements and presents a clear summary of the main features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organised into four paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs detailing specific income brackets, and a concluding overview. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the data, with phrases like 'To begin with', 'In contrast', and 'Overall' structuring the text. However, paragraphing and referencing can occasionally feel somewhat mechanical. For instance, the transition in the second paragraph regarding the $75,000 to $99,999 range ('through there was a minor dip') contains a slight logical disconnection. Nevertheless, the overall progression is clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for this task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'fluctuated', 'relativelty constant', 'proportion', and 'upward trends'. However, there are some noticeable spelling and word choice errors, including 'earings' instead of 'earnings', 'relativelty' instead of 'relatively', 'through' instead of 'though', and 'signifcant' instead of 'significant'. Furthermore, the student refers to the chart as showing 'annual revenue of households' rather than 'annual income', which is a slight lexical inaccuracy given the context of household earnings. These errors do not impede communication but prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, demonstrating an ability to construct compound and complex sentences (e.g., 'To begin with, household earnings between $25,000 and $49,999 fluctuated throughout these years, with around 27 million households in this range in 2007...'). There are several grammatical and mechanical errors present, such as 'decreasing of about 28 million' (should be 'decreasing to about'), 'lowest inome category' (spelling error), and minor prepositional slips. Despite these errors, the majority of simple sentences are accurate, and the grammatical flaws do not impede the reader's overall understanding of the text.

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

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