Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The bar graph illustrates the annual income of the US householder in millions for 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, it is clear that all categories recorded almost identical figures throughout the given period, whereas the highest annual revenue was generated by the last category.

The households who earned less than $25000 were approximately 25 million in 2007, 28 million in 2011, and 27 million in 2015, in the USA. In 2011 around 30 million householders in the USA had earned $25000-$49000 in a year, higher than 2007 and 2011 who stood at approximately 27 million and 28 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, annual revenue between $50,000 to $74,999, the figures of households in 2007, 2011, and 2015 had been identical to each other, around 21 million, 22 million and 21.5 million, respectively. The householders with annual income $75,000-$99,999 had recorded the least numbers in the three years, approximately at 14 million in 2007, 13 million in 2011, and 15 million in 2015. The category with yearly revenue $100,000 or above, had households around 29.5 million in 2007, 27 million in 2011, and 33 million in 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing an overview and reporting the main features of the chart, such as identifying the categories with the highest and lowest figures. However, some areas are developed more fully than others, and certain data points contain slight inaccuracies compared to the visual data. For instance, the discussion of the lowest category ($75,000–$99,999) mixes up some specific year values. The overview touches upon the main trends, but the conclusion that all categories recorded almost identical figures throughout the period is slightly contradictory to the actual data shifts. To reach a higher level, the response would need to ensure greater accuracy in data reporting and provide a more fully developed, precise summary of the overall trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the introduction and overview to the body paragraphs detailing specific income brackets. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different groups of data. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, with repetitive transitional phrases like 'Meanwhile' and 'In 2011 around... higher than 2007 and 2011'. Reference words and substitution could be managed more flexibly to avoid slight confusion in referencing multiple years consecutively, such as in the second body paragraph where the time comparison becomes tangled ('higher than 2007 and 2011 who stood at...'). To achieve a higher score, the response would benefit from smoother, more sophisticated transitions and clearer referencing between data points.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'illustrates', 'categories', 'revenue', and 'householders'. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are sometimes accompanied by inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as referring to household income categories as 'annual revenue' or using 'householder' instead of 'households'. Spelling is generally accurate, but some phrasing feels unnatural. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate a more precise control of lexical items and collocations specific to economic data, such as using 'bracket' or 'income group' rather than 'revenue'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede communication. Examples include minor preposition and tense slips, such as 'had earned $25000-$49000 in a year, higher than 2007 and 2011 who stood at...' where the relative pronoun 'who' is incorrectly applied to years rather than households, and minor articles omissions. To reach a higher band, the writer should increase the proportion of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over relative clauses and subject-verb agreement.

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.