Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-06

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 given bar graph displays the account of households in the us by their annual income between three different years 2007,2011 and 2015.

Overall,it is clearly seen that the number of households had become incresed gradually. In 2015 of $100,000 or more had the highest number of households in millions while $75,000-$99,999 millons was the lowest trend of households.

In 2007 households of annual income was less than $25,000 become gradually increased at 25millions to under 30 millions in over period.similarly the anuunal income was $25000-$[redacted phone]

rose steadily at approximately 25 to 30 by 5millions and decline remain same as earliest.

In contrast,2007 of $75000-$99,999 millons at under 15 increased to reached at 15 million sin 2015 which was the lowest income in year. however the number of households at $50,000-$74,999 was still remain same at 20millions.finally, the annunal income of $100,000 or more was the highest number of millions income in 2007at around 30millions decline before upward trend at above 30 millions in 2015 by 10millions incresed.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response makes an attempt to summarise the main features of the chart, providing some general overview and highlighting specific data points such as the highest and lowest income categories. However, the information is only partially addressed, and key comparisons are lacking or poorly articulated. Certain data reporting is inaccurate or confusingly expressed, such as claiming that the category of $75,000 to $99,999 was the lowest trend or misinterpreting specific figures. The overall progression and selection of data lack clarity, resulting in an underdeveloped presentation of the visual information. To reach a higher level, the response needs to select and accurately report key trends and comparisons consistently across all categories, ensuring the overview directly reflects the overall patterns in the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response shows some basic organisation by attempting to separate the data into different paragraphs and uses basic linking words such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'finally'. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the logical flow between sentences is frequently disrupted. Cohesive devices are often inadequate, inaccurate, or clumsily applied, making the progression difficult to follow at times. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs suffers from poor referencing and abrupt transitions between data points. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the writer should ensure a more logical progression of ideas, use a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices without mechanical repetition, and structure paragraphs so that each focuses on a clearly related set of data or trends.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, with noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation that occasionally impede communication. Examples of lexical weaknesses include 'the account of households' instead of 'the number of households', 'incresed', 'millons', and 'annunal'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'gradually increased' and 'upward trend', but control is weak, leading to awkward phrasing like 'lowest trend of households' or 'highest number of millions income'. Spelling errors are also present. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to expand their lexical repertoire, use precise vocabulary related to data trends and quantities, and pay closer attention to word formation and spelling to ensure the message is conveyed smoothly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is quite limited, relying heavily on simple sentence structures, while attempts at more complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies, missing prepositions, faulty verb forms, and incorrect punctuation or spacing (e.g., 'had become incresed gradually', 'In 2015 of $100,000 or more had', 'decline remain same as earliest'). These errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and obscure the precise meaning of the statements being made. To improve, the writer must work on basic sentence construction, ensure correct subject-verb agreement and tense usage, and increase the frequency of error-free sentences by mastering complex sentence patterns.

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

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