Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-10

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 diagram illustrates the number of households in the US by their final income in 2007 , 20011 and 2015.

To begin start with the year when the households have find first income. A vast amount of households who receive less than 25,000 dollars but it increases next year. Consequently, it decreases in the last year than the middle year both not than the started year. Moreover, Number of households rise in the year in which final income was almost near to 50,000 dollars. Individuals in this year equal in started and last year but a bit increases in middle year.

After that in the year in which their final income was 50,000 to 75,000 dollars consequently, their number of households was decreases and almost equal in all cases. Furthermore, number of households almost equal in the year in which income was almost near to 99,999 dollars and finally, number of households in the year in which final income was more than 100,000 dollars was almost equal in first and middle year but increases in final year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response identifies several relevant income groups and notices some broad patterns, such as the near stability of the $50,000–$74,999 category and the rise in households earning at least $100,000 by 2015. However, it does not provide a clear overview of the chart’s main features, and much of the reporting is vague or inaccurate. For example, the $75,000–$99,999 group was broadly stable, not “almost equal” without further detail, while the $25,000–$49,999 group rose in 2011 and then fell slightly in 2015. The claim that this group was equal in the first and last years is not accurate. The opening also gives the year as “20011.” Select the key highs, lows and changes, and support them with accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation: the response moves through the income categories and uses sequencing expressions such as “Moreover,” “After that” and “Furthermore.” This gives the reader a basic sense of how the information is being presented. However, there is no clear introduction-to-overview-to-details progression, and the repeated category-by-category phrasing makes the account difficult to follow. Some links are also unclear, as in “Consequently, it decreases in the last year than the middle year both not than the started year,” where the comparison is hard to interpret. Grouping categories with similar trends and using clearer comparisons would improve progression. A concise overview before the detailed figures would also help the reader understand the main message.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “households,” “income,” “increases,” “decreases” and “equal,” so the subject is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unnatural or imprecise, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to understand. For instance, “final income” does not describe the chart’s income bands, and “households have find first income” is unclear. Repeated use of “almost equal” also obscures whether figures are stable, similar or changing. Use precise terms such as “income bracket,” “number of households,” “remained stable” and “rose slightly,” and avoid repeating the same general expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to connect ideas in longer sentences, but its grammatical range is limited and errors are frequent enough to make several comparisons difficult to follow. Examples include “the households have find first income,” “it increases next year,” and “their number of households was decreases.” These show problems with verb forms and sentence construction. Agreement and article use are also inconsistent, as in “number of households rise” and “in the year in which their final income.” The sentence beginning “Consequently, it decreases…” has an unclear comparison structure. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then add comparisons using patterns such as “The figure rose from X to Y before falling slightly.” Check tense consistency and subject–verb agreement.

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