Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-04

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 6.0)

The bar chart compares the number of households in the US by their annual income in 2007,2011 and 2015.

Overall, the number of households earning $100,000 or more accounted for the largest group, whereas $75,000-$99,999 represented the lowest group. In contrast, $25,000-$49,999 recorded the second largest group.

Looking first at the highest and lowest income groups, the number of US households earning $100,000 or more accounted for the largest group stood at 30 million in 2007 and decreased to 29 million in 2011, increased to 33 million in 2015. The proportion of US households who earning $75,000-$99,999 was the lowest group started at 14 million and decreased 13 million, increased slightly to 15 million.

Turning to middle income groups, less than $25,000, $25,000-$49,999 and $50,000-$74999 the percentage of households earning in less than $25,000 increased approxmately 25 million in 2007 to 29 million in 2011, before falling slightly to 27 million in 2015. In contrast, the number of US households earning $25,000-$49,999 rose from 26 million in 2007 and 30 milllion in 2011, then fallen slightly 27 million in 2015. Meanwhile, the figure for households earning $50,000-$74,999 was remained 20 million in all years .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by presenting an overview and reporting the main features of household income distribution across the three given years. The overall trend is clear, highlighting both the highest and lowest groups effectively. However, certain parts of the response are slightly under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the statement that households earning $75,000-$99,999 started at 14 million and decreased 13 million misses the preposition, and some figures cited slightly misalign with the visual data. The response meets the core requirements of Task Achievement and displays a clear overview, though more precise data selection and fully supported comparisons would be needed to reach the next band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a logical attempt to divide information into paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview, followed by specific income brackets. Cohesive devices are used, but referencing and linking between sentences are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, expressions like 'Looking first at the highest and lowest income groups' and 'Turning to middle income groups' help guide the reader, but internal clause linking occasionally breaks down, as seen in fused structures like 'accounted for the largest group stood at 30 million'. Paragraphing is present and logical, but paragraph boundaries and internal transitions need smoother management to achieve a more seamless flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'proportion', 'group', and 'brackets'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, form, and spelling, such as 'approxmately', 'fallen' instead of 'fell', and slight confusions between 'proportion' and 'number'. Despite these lexical errors and spelling slips, communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main trends shown in the chart. To reach a higher band, the writer would need to demonstrate a wider range of precise lexical items with fewer spelling and word-choice inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating time clauses and comparative structures. There are several grammar errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the figure for households earning ... was remained'), missing prepositions ('decreased 13 million'), and awkward dangling clauses ('accounted for the largest group stood at 30 million'). Punctuation is also occasionally weak, missing commas after introductory phrases. Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede overall communication, allowing the reader to follow the intended data points. This represents a solid control of basic structures with an emerging, though sometimes faulty, attempt at complex sentences.

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

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