Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-09

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 chart compares the number of housholds in US,measured in millions,categorized in five different groups; based on thier gross income over the three years in 2007,2011,and 2015.

Overall,the number of housholds increased for all types of income from 2007 to 2015 ,except group four which have $75,000-99,000.The highest increased recorded in fifth group whose salary range from $100,000 or more.

In 2007, salary from less than $25,000 and second group which ranged from $25,000-$49,000 showed same trend ,increased in 2011 and then agin decreased in 2015.it was recorded 25 million and 27 million in 2007 and in 2011 it rose at 29 and 30 million ,followed by again decrease 28 and 29 million respectively.

Fourth group ,$75,000-$99,999,was at 14 million in 2007,followed by slight reduction ,and again recoverd at 15 million.Housholds containing $100,000 or more showed highest increase in number of houshold.It was 29 million in 2007,around 28million in 2011,and in 2015 it reached at 34 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and provide an overview, correctly noting that the $100,000-or-more group had the strongest rise and that the $75,000–$99,999 group changed little overall. However, the overview is not fully accurate: the claim that all groups except the fourth increased from 2007 to 2015 overlooks the broadly stable $50,000–$74,999 category. Some figures and trends are also imprecise. For example, the two lower-income groups peaked in 2011 at about 28.5 and 29.5 million, rather than 29 and 30, while the fourth group rose slightly from 14.5 to 15 million overall. A clearer overview and more precise selection of key comparisons would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing groups of figures. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through the information. The grouping of the two lower-income categories together is useful, and phrases such as “followed by” help show sequence. However, the progression is weakened by unclear references, including “same trend” and “it was recorded,” which make it harder to identify which figures belong to which category. The final paragraph also combines the fourth and highest-income groups without a clear comparison. Use explicit category names more consistently and organise the body paragraphs around clear comparisons or related trends.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “categorized,” “salary range,” “slight reduction,” and “highest increase,” so the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or unnatural for household income data. “Salary” refers to an individual’s pay, whereas “income group” or “annual household income” is more suitable; “same trend” is also vague when describing the two categories. Spelling errors such as “housholds,” “thier,” “agin,” and “recoverd” are noticeable and reduce precision. Aim for accurate, varied terms such as “number of households,” “rose,” “declined,” and “remained stable,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the sequence describing the lower-income groups. The main trends remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “which have $75,000-99,000” has incorrect agreement and an incomplete category label, while “it reached at 34 million” uses an incorrect verb pattern. The opening also needs clearer article and preposition use (“households in the US”) and more consistent punctuation between clauses. Several sentences rely on comma-linked sequences, which makes relationships between ideas less clear. Practise accurate relative clauses, past-tense reporting, and sentence boundaries while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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