Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
the chart shows the annual income of number of households that earns in five different catagories. these catagories are defined by bar graph with annula income ranging from $25,000 to more than $100,000.
as per the graph, in the year 2007, people earning less than $25,000 are at 25 million, $25,000 to $49,999 are betwee 25 million to 30 million, $50,000 to $74,999 are between 20 to 25 million, $75,000 to $99,999 are slightly below 15 million and people earning more than $100,000 are almost 30 million.
while analysing statistics of year 2011, there are noticeable changes in each catagory, only $75,000 to $99,999 catagory has decreased in numbers,
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response is severely under-length, containing only 109 words against the required minimum of 150 words, which heavily penalises the task achievement score. Furthermore, the response is incomplete, cutting off abruptly in the middle of describing the year 2011 and failing entirely to mention the 2015 data or provide an overview. While the opening attempts to introduce the chart and the body paragraph lists some 2007 figures (e.g., 'people earning less than $25,000 are at 25 million'), the lack of an overall trend and the unfinished nature of the text prevent the response from scoring higher.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The text is broken into very short, disjointed paragraphs and lacks an overall logical progression due to the incomplete nature of the writing. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic (e.g., 'as per the graph', 'while analysing statistics'). Paragraphing is poorly handled as sentences are fragmented without proper separation of ideas. There is no concluding overview to tie the information together, making the organizational structure weak and incomplete.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary is very basic and repetitive, with recurring spelling errors such as 'catagories' instead of categories and 'annula' instead of annual. The range of vocabulary is limited to simple descriptions of numbers and income brackets without demonstrating an ability to use less common lexical items or paraphrase effectively. Word choices are elementary, though communication is not entirely impeded for the parts that are written.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The grammatical range is limited, consisting primarily of simple sentence structures and lists. There are noticeable punctuation and capitalization errors throughout the text, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('the chart shows', 'as per the graph', 'while analysing'). Subject-verb agreement is sometimes awkward (e.g., 'people earning less than $25,000 are at 25 million'). Because the text stops abruptly, complex structures are virtually absent.
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