Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The provided bar chart depicts the number of households in the United States Of America by their annual earning in years 2007,2011 and 2015.
Overall, it can be clearly seen that highest income come in 2015 more 100,000 dollars and 75,000 to 99,999 are lowest earning in three years.
In 2007, the annual money less than 25000$ was 25 million and 25000 to 49999 was over 25 million. 50000 to 7499$ was over 20 million and 75000 to 99999 was less than 15 million per year and [redacted phone] or more than that was near to 30 million household.
In 2011, the annual earning less than 25000 million increased to about 28 million and [redacted phone]9 boosted to almost 30 million and [redacted phone]9 reached to over 20 million and [redacted phone]9 almost remained the same [redacted phone]9$ but [redacted phone] or more decreased to about 27 million.
In 2015, all earning funds remained almost constant just like same however the earning [redacted phone] or more boosted to around 33 million dollars.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the main features of the bar chart regarding US household income across the three given years. However, the overview is extremely weak, ungrammatical, and lacks precision. Phrases like "highest income come in 2015 more 100,000 dollars" are confusing and poorly expressed. While the body paragraphs attempt to report data for each year, there are several inaccuracies in data transcription and phrasing (e.g., "less than 25000 million", which misinterprets households as millions of dollars). The response covers the main categories provided in the chart, but the lack of a clear, coherent overview and imprecise reporting of data limits the score to a 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is organized into distinct paragraphs, starting with an introduction, moving to an overview, and then dedicating individual paragraphs to the years 2007, 2011, and 2015. However, progression within paragraphs is clunky and repetitive, heavily relying on listing figures sequentially (e.g., "In 2007, the annual money less than 25000$ was..."). Cohesive devices are minimal and mechanical, often absent where needed. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall logical flow is disrupted by poor sentence structure and weak transitional links, resulting in a band 5.0 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying on elementary terms such as "earning", "money", "boosted", and "decreased". There are notable collocation and word-choice errors, such as using "earning funds" instead of income brackets, and confusing monetary values with population figures (e.g., writing "less than 25000 million" instead of 25 million households earning less than $25,000). The range of vocabulary is limited and inadequate for a higher band, though basic communication is generally maintained despite the awkward phrasing. This fits the band 5.0 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The text contains a very limited range of grammatical structures, primarily relying on simple sentences or awkward compound structures connected by "and". There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles, incorrect prepositions, subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., "highest income come"), and fragment sentences in the overview. Complex structures are rare and, when attempted, tend to be faulty. Errors frequently cause difficulty for the reader and obscure meaning, which aligns with the band 5.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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