Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-03

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 bar chart illustrates the number of households in the USA, measured in millions,across five diffrent income groups in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

overall households earnings $100,000 or more showed the most significant increase over the period, while the number of households earning $50,000 - $74,999 and $75,000 -$99,999 remained relatively stable. the two lower - income groups also change only slightly.

In 2007, approximately 25 million house earned less than $25000, while around 27 mill

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response responds to the task only minimally and is severely cut short, reaching only 76 words against the required 150-word minimum. While the student successfully attempts to introduce the chart and provide a basic overview of the main trends, the body of the response trails off mid-sentence after mentioning just a couple of initial data points ('around 27 mill'). Consequently, the key features and data comparisons are left largely unreported and underdeveloped. To reach a higher band, the writer must fully develop the response by selecting and reporting all relevant main features, providing detailed comparisons across the categories, and ensuring the writing meets the required word length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text displays some basic organisation, opening with an introductory sentence followed by a clear overall summary ('overall households earnings $100,000 or more showed the most significant increase...'). However, due to the abrupt ending of the text, there is no clear overall progression or body paragraph structure to properly connect ideas. Cohesive devices are minimal, and the lack of a completed body makes it difficult to assess how well information is sequenced. To improve cohesion, the student should use logical paragraphing and employ a wider range of cohesive ties, such as 'In contrast' or 'meanwhile,' to link comparisons smoothly across the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'most significant increase' and 'remained relatively stable.' However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, including 'diffrent' instead of 'different' and 'house' instead of 'households' in the incomplete final sentence. These errors indicate a limited yet minimally adequate lexical resource that occasionally causes strain for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to expand their range of vocabulary, ensure accurate word forms, and eliminate spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing shows a limited range of structures, attempting a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the introductory complex sentence introduced by 'while.' However, there are frequent errors in punctuation and grammar, including missing capitalization at the beginning of sentences (e.g., 'overall households' and 'the two lower') and missing articles or prepositions in phrases like 'households earnings $100,000 or more.' Furthermore, basic punctuation is neglected. To move up to the next band, the student must demonstrate better control over basic sentence construction, punctuation rules, and grammatical agreements, aiming for a higher proportion of error-free sentences.

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.