Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chart compares the number of households in US by their yearly income in the year 2007,2011 and 2015.

Overall, the diagram compares the houses in US in the form of millions . The accommodations in 2007 was not less than 14 percents in any ratio of houses . Moreover, in the past few years all the prices was very high mostly were above [redacted phone] dollar or more .

It begins with 2007 in that time mostly houses were less than 25000 dollars at the ratio of 29 percents while only 14 percents ratio of accommodation was more than [redacted phone] dollars or above . In the year 2011, the most common house prices were between 25000 to 49999 dollars at the ratio of 30 percents . Furthermore, other prices were at mid range which was 50 to 70 thousands .

But , in previous year 2015 the high ranges of houses were 33 percent which was highest of that time and the house prices were more then [redacted phone] dollars . And, the most mid range house prices were between 30 to 75 thousand dollars .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and make some relevant comparisons across the three years, including the rise in the $100,000-or-more group by 2015. However, the overview is unclear and includes unsupported claims: “all the prices was very high” does not describe household numbers, and the chart gives no information about house prices. Several figures or categories are misreported. In 2007, the largest group was households earning $100,000 or more, at about 29.5 million, not households earning under $25,000; the under-$25,000 group was about 25 million. In 2011, the $25,000–$49,999 group was about 29.5 million, while the $50,000–$74,999 group stayed near 21 million. Focus on accurate household counts and summarise the main trends clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and descriptions of the three years. This gives the reader some sense of organisation, and time markers such as “In the year 2011” and “in 2015” help signal changes. However, there is no clear overall progression because the overview is vague and the body moves between income categories without consistently comparing them. Connectors such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “But” are sometimes used mechanically or do not express the relationship clearly. For example, “Furthermore, other prices were at mid range” does not specify which household figures are being compared. Group the data by notable trends and use clear references to income bands and years.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-related terms, including “bar chart,” “millions,” “ratio,” and “mid range,” and the reader can generally identify that the response concerns income categories. However, vocabulary is repetitive and often imprecise, which makes key information difficult to interpret. “House prices” and “accommodation” are not suitable substitutes for household income groups, while “prices were at mid range” misrepresents what the chart measures. Phrases such as “in the past few years” and “high ranges of houses” are also unclear in this context. Use precise terms such as “households,” “income band,” and “number of households,” and describe values as rising, falling, or remaining stable rather than describing prices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the time references make the intended sequence broadly understandable. However, errors in agreement, articles, plurals, and sentence construction occur repeatedly. For example, “the accommodations in 2007 was” has a plural subject with a singular verb, and “all the prices was” has the same agreement problem. In “mostly houses were less than 25000 dollars at the ratio of 29 percents,” the sentence structure does not clearly express the intended comparison. Commas and spacing around dates and transitions are also inconsistent. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and build direct sentences such as “The number of households earning under $25,000 rose from about 25 million to 28 million.”

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