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 graph illustrates the data of different levels of annual wage of families in the united sates in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

As far as the number of families whose annual income was less than $25,000 it, began with around 5 million in 2007, then increased to approximately 27 million in 2011, but decreased by 2 million 4 year later. Similarly those of families that earned $25,000 to $49,999 were about 25 million in 2007, after that it rose to nearly 30 million in 2011.

Finally it decreased to around 27 million in 2015.

By contrast, the groups of families which have high income, including $75,000 to $99,999 and $100,000 or more experienced a drop in 2011, but their data went up in 2015.

Interesting things could be in the group of middle income, the data remain the same in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main trends in the chart, but there are several factual errors regarding the data. For instance, the number of families earning less than $25,000 is reported as beginning with 'around 5 million in 2007', whereas the chart clearly shows 25 million. Furthermore, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement (containing only 144 words), which negatively impacts the task achievement score. While there is an attempt to compare different income groups across the given years, the inaccuracies in data transcription and the length penalty limit this section to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response shows some basic organization with chronological and comparative signposts such as 'As far as the number', 'then increased', and 'By contrast'. However, the paragraphing is very weak, with single-sentence paragraphs and disjointed transitions like 'Finally it decreased' standing alone awkwardly. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurately applied, and referencing between sentences is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'Similarly those of families that earned'. Overall progression is somewhat impeded by these structural and organizational flaws, placing this response at Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally repetitive and restricted, with frequent reliance on basic phrasing like 'number of families', 'annual income', 'increased', and 'decreased'. There are also lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations, such as 'annual wage of families in the united sates' instead of 'annual income of households in the United States', and the strange expression 'Interesting things could be in the group'. While the writer attempts some less common terms like 'experienced a drop', the range is limited and spelling/capitalization errors (e.g., 'united sates') occur. This fits the Band 5.0 descriptors well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'As far as the number of families whose annual income was less than $25,000 it, began with...', where the extra pronoun creates a structural fault. Punctuation is also problematic, leading to run-on structures or disjointed clauses. Although some sentences are understandable, frequent errors in complex forms cause occasional difficulty for the reader, justifying a band score of 5.0.

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

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