Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-05

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 graph illustrates the number of US households, in millions, across five annual income groups in 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Overall, household earning $100,000 or more was the largest income group in 2015, while household earning $75,000-$99,999 showed the lowest income group in 2011. Other income group remained stable over the time.

In 2007, there were approximately 25 million households earning less than $25,000, compared with around 27 million in $25,000-$49,999 bracket. Around 21 million household earned $50,000-$74,000, while around 14 miilion for $75,000-$99,999 bracket. The highest was around 29 million household earned $100,000 or more.

In 2011, the two lowest income groups had risen to roughly, 29 million and 30 million households. The $50,000-$74,000 category remained at 21 million, whereas $75,000-$99,999 had slightly decreased to 13 million households. The highest households number slightly decreased to 27 million.

In 2015, the first two less than $25,000 and $25,000-$49,999 had decreased to roughly 28 million and 29 million, respectively. the third category remained unchanged, while the $75,000-$99,999 had increased slightly to 15 million household. The last highest among the all about 33 million households earned $100,000 or more.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing an overview and selecting key features of the US household income chart for the years 2007, 2011, and 2015. You appropriately highlighted the highest and lowest groups, such as noting that households earning $100,000 or more formed the largest group in 2015. However, some aspects are under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the claim that the $75,000-$99,999 category was the lowest group in 2011 is slightly imprecise since other fluctuations also occurred, and some general statements lack full support. To reach a higher band, ensure all major trends are fully elaborated with precise comparisons across all categories throughout the given timeframe.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical structure divided into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for each year. Information progresses reasonably well chronologically. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, and referencing can be unclear. For example, phrases like 'the first two less than $25,000 and $25,000-$49,999' and 'the third category' lack smooth transitional integration. To improve, use more sophisticated and varied cohesive devices rather than repeating basic sequential formulas, and ensure that referencing nouns are clearly linked to their corresponding categories to enhance readability and flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, successfully conveying numerical data and trends using terms such as 'illustrates', 'category', 'decreased', and 'remained unchanged'. You attempted less common vocabulary phrases, but this resulted in occasional inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'household earning' instead of 'households earning' and 'The highest households number' instead of 'The highest number of households'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but minor word-choice slips occur. To achieve a higher lexical score, expand your use of less common lexical items with greater precision in collocation and ensure accurate grammatical forms for noun phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is a workable mix of simple and complex sentence forms attempted throughout the response, such as using comparative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. Some sentences are error-free, but a number of grammatical errors persist, particularly regarding pluralization, subject-verb agreement, and missing articles. Examples include 'household earning $100,000 or more was' (should be 'households earning'), 'around 14 miilion for $75,000-$99,999 bracket' (missing noun/verb structure), and 'rough, 29 million' (punctuation error). These errors rarely impede communication, but they prevent the writing from achieving a higher score. To improve, ensure careful proofreading for articles, plural forms, and complete grammatical structures.

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