Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The given bar graph show the annual income of families in US in three different years.

Overall, the graph show the highest and lowest point of annual income families in different years. The graph also show the increasing and decreasing point of annual income of families in different years.The graph show 5 different lines in each group and show their maximum and minimum values.The famelies who's income is more then [redacted phone]$ is high in every group and the families who's income is 75000$ to 99999$ is less then every in each year.

The graph show the families who's annual income is more then [redacted phone]$ these are less then 30 in year 2007 and 2011 but it increase in 2015 and up to 30.

On the other hand the famelies who's income is 75000$ to 99999$ are on lowest point on other number of household in all years These famelies donot up to 15 in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response attempts to address the task by discussing the bar graph showing US households by annual income in 2007, 2011, and 2015. However, the overview is extremely repetitive and lacks clarity, merely stating that the graph shows 'the highest and lowest point' without identifying the actual major trends. Furthermore, the selection of data is inaccurate; the student claims that households earning more than $100,000 are 'less than 30' in 2007 and 2011 and 'up to 30' in 2015, whereas the chart shows 29.5, 27.5, and 33.5 million respectively. The comparisons are poorly developed and fail to accurately report the main features of the visual data. These significant inaccuracies and weak development place the response at Band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs, but the overall progression of ideas is difficult to follow. The introduction and second paragraph repeat similar phrasing ('annual income of families in different years') without adding substantive content. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, and referencing is often unclear (e.g., 'these are less than 30'). There is no logical sequencing or effective signposting between the overview and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion is faulty throughout, reflecting the characteristics of Band 4.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is extremely basic, repetitive, and plagued by severe spelling errors (e.g., 'famelies' instead of families, 'then' instead of than, 'show' instead of shows). Words and phrases are reused constantly ('annual income', 'different years', 'high', 'less then'). There is no successful attempt to use less common lexical items, and the frequent lexical and spelling errors frequently strain the reader, aligning closely with the Band 4.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The grammatical range is severely limited. The response relies heavily on simple, repetitive sentence patterns ('The graph show...', 'The famelies who's income...'). There are persistent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The given bar graph show', 'the graph show'), incorrect relative pronouns ('who's' instead of whose), and structural fragments ('These famelies donot up to 15 in both years'). Complex structures are rarely attempted and, when used, are entirely faulty. The frequency of errors makes reading difficult, justifying a Band 4.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.