Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-07

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 5.5)

The bar chart compares household by their yearly income in three different years 2007, 2011 and 2015 in US.

Overall, it was clear that in three different years households with different annual salary package was not surged or slumped too much. However, in 2015 households with specific annual income are escalate.

If we see in details, households with salary less than $25,000 was climb 25 million in 2007 and 29 million households in 2011 while in 2015 households fall to 27.5 million. Almost same pattern followed by households with $25,000-$49,999 annual income. In addition, number of households with annual salary $50,000-$74,999 and $75,000-$99,999 was remain same with 21millions and 15millions respectively in three years.

Moreover, households with annual salary more than $100,000 are fluctuate throughout three years that was 30 millions in 2007, 27 millions in 2011 and 34 millions. In 2007 and 2015, most number of households have annual salary more than $100,000 but in 2011 dominating annual salary was halve of other two years that are $25,000-$49,000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and report several relevant figures, including the broadly stable middle-income groups and the rise in households earning at least $100,000 by 2015. However, some data are inaccurate: the under-$25,000 group is about 28.5 million in 2011 and 28 million in 2015, not 29 and 27.5; the $75,000–$99,999 group changes from about 14.5 to 14 to 15 million rather than remaining constant. The overview that figures did not change much also misses the notable 2015 high-income peak. The final comparison is unclear and misstates the 2011 leading category: $25,000–$49,999 was highest, but it was not “halve” of the other years. More accurate selection and clearer overview would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs presenting details, with transitions such as “Overall,” “In addition,” and “Moreover.” This gives the reader some guidance through the information. However, progression is not consistently clear because several categories are grouped together without precise explanation, and the final sentence is difficult to interpret: “dominating annual salary was halve of other two years” does not clearly state what is being compared. The phrase “If we see in details” also creates an awkward transition. Organise the body around clear comparisons—for example, the income groups that stayed stable and those that changed—and use linking phrases only where they clarify the relationship between figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “households,” “annual income,” “million,” and “fluctuate,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, including “salary package,” “was not surged or slumped,” “are escalate,” and “most number of households.” These choices sometimes make the intended meaning harder to follow. There is also repetition of “households” and “annual salary,” while “income” would be more appropriate and consistent for the chart. Aim for precise reporting verbs and natural combinations, such as “rose to,” “fell to,” “remained stable,” and “the largest number of households.” This would make the description clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentence forms, and the main comparisons can usually be understood. However, frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction make the writing uneven. For example, “households … was climb” should use a correctly formed past-tense verb, while “households … are fluctuate” has an incorrect verb pattern and tense. In “number of households … was remain same,” the verb construction is also faulty. Singular and plural forms are inconsistent in phrases such as “21millions,” and the final sentence lacks a clear grammatical structure. Practise forming past-tense descriptions consistently and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and plural nouns. More accurate sentence patterns would help communicate the comparisons reliably.

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

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