Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart compares the data regarding the number of households according to different ranges of annual income over the years 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Initially, in 2007 households with annual income less than $25,000 was 25 million. Whereas, after 4 years it gradually grew to nearly 30 million. It was seen that, this continued consistently upto 2015 with a slight dip to 29 milllion in 2015. Surprisingly, the same trend was followed by the household with income between $25,000-49,999 throughout these years. However, the number of households with income between $50,000-74,999 remained constant over 8 years with maximum 22 million. In sharp contrast, households with annual income $75,000-$99,999 was the least which varied in between 12 to 15 million. In spite of that, 100,000 or more was the annual income of greatest number of households which was 33 million.

To sum up, the largest number of households had the annual income $100,000 or more. On the other hand, the households with annual income $75,000-$99,999 was the least among other households.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s subject and report several relevant patterns, including the rise in the two lower-income groups by 2011, the stability of the $50,000–$74,999 group, and the high position of the $100,000-or-more category. The overview also correctly identifies the highest and lowest income bands. However, some details are incomplete or imprecise: the $25,000–$49,999 group peaks at about 29.5 million in 2011 and then falls to around 28.5 million, rather than simply following the same trend as the lowest-income group. The highest-income group changes notably across all three years, but its 2007 and 2011 figures are not discussed. Develop the overview around these contrasting movements and support it with accurate comparisons across the years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, a paragraph describing the figures, and a concluding summary. The sequence from the lower-income categories to the higher ones is generally easy to follow, and phrases such as “In sharp contrast” signal a comparison. This gives the report coherent organisation. Some linking is less effective, however. “Initially” and “Whereas” create a fragment-like transition, while “In spite of that” does not express a clear contrast between the preceding category and the highest-income group. The final summary repeats the main point without adding a new comparison. Use fewer, more precise connectors and group the categories by shared trends, so the progression between comparisons feels more deliberate.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing a chart, including “remained constant,” “slight dip,” “varied,” and “largest number.” These choices communicate the main trends, and the income bands are generally identified clearly. There are some imprecise or unnatural expressions: “the same trend was followed by the household” is awkward and obscures the fact that the category rose and then declined; “with maximum 22 million” is not a natural way to report a stable figure; and “100,000 or more was the annual income of greatest number” is difficult to parse. Check spelling as well, since “milllion” is misspelled. More precise trend verbs and natural collocations would make the comparisons clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “which” and “whereas,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “households … was 25 million” has subject–verb disagreement, and “the household with income …” does not match the plural category being described. “Whereas, after 4 years…” is an incomplete sentence, and the sentence beginning “In spite of that” has an unclear grammatical relationship to the previous idea. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention. Aim to make each comparison a complete sentence, maintain plural agreement when discussing groups of households, and check punctuation around introductory linking words.

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