Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-02

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 5.5)

The chart shows the number of households (in millions) in the US by their annual income in 2007,2011and 2015. The chart shows an increase in the number of households in the period between 2007 and 2011 (25million to nearly 28 million)and the a slight decline in the period between 2011 and 2015 for the annual income of less then 25000$.The chart also shows a similar increase for the annual income of 25000$_49,999$( from almost 26 million to 30 million)in the period between 2007 to 2011and a similar decline (30million to 29million) in the period between 2011 and 2015.As for the annual income of 50.0000$ to 74.999$ the number of households remained stable(arround 20 million)and that applies also to the annual income of 75.000 $to 99.999 $ where the number of housholds stayed almost stable arround 15 million.Lastly, for the annual income of [redacted phone]$and more and after a small decline in the number of households in the period between 2007 and 2011(29 million to 28 million),it increased to reach almost 34 million in 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by reporting figures for US household incomes across the three specified years, attempting to cover multiple categories. However, the information presented is sometimes imprecise or unsupported by the chart; for instance, the numbers cited for certain income brackets do not accurately reflect the visual data. Furthermore, while the student attempts to highlight several main features, the lack of a clear overview or summary statement limits the overall development of the task. The ideas are somewhat limited and lack sufficient extension to reach higher descriptors. To improve, the writer should ensure data is read carefully from the chart and include an introductory overview paragraph highlighting the overall trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates some logical organisation by grouping information according to different income categories. However, there is a lack of a clear overall progression across the text, as it reads more like a mechanical list of data points rather than a cohesive summary. Paragraphing is inadequate, as the entire response is condensed into a single solid block of text without natural breaks between introduction, body details, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes inaccurate or repetitive, particularly with the over-reliance on phrases like 'The chart also shows' and 'As for the annual income'. To achieve a higher band, the writer must divide the text into logical paragraphs and employ a wider, more varied range of cohesive links to guide the reader smoothly through the comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to data reporting such as 'number of households', 'increase', 'decline', and 'stable'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, placement of currency symbols (e.g., '25000$', '50.0000$'), and spacing (e.g., 'arround', 'housholds'). Less common lexical items are rarely attempted, and the repetitive reliance on basic phrasing restricts the response. To progress to a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a broader variety of precise synonyms, improve spelling accuracy, and correctly format numbers and monetary values according to standard conventions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple clauses and repetitive descriptive patterns. When the writer attempts more complex sentence forms—such as in the final sentence—errors emerge, particularly regarding punctuation, preposition use, and sentence boundaries. There are frequent errors in basic punctuation and spacing, such as missing spaces after commas and periods (e.g., '2007,2011and 2015.', '25000$.The chart'). While these errors do not completely obscure the overall meaning, they cause noticeable difficulty and hesitation for the reader. To improve, the writer should focus on expanding the variety of grammatical structures used, ensuring accurate punctuation, and controlling complex sentence forms more effectively.

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

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