Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The graph demonstrate the number of residential units in the US by their yearly income in 2007,2011 and 2015.

From an overall analysis,It is evident that in 2015,US dewellers recorded the highest annually earning near to $100,000 or more.Moreover,In year 2011,the least number of residents earned $75,000-$99,999 level of income.

To expound the bar graph in detail,In year 2007 approximately 30 million of individuals earned highest income Which was $100,000 or more.In addition to that 15 million families earned 75,000-99,999 income yearly and near to 25 million dewellers received $25,000-49,999 yearly salary.On the other hand,In 2011 $75,000-$99,999 and $100,000 declined slightly than previous year.$25,000-$49,999 remained the greatest income got by American families and 30 million people earned this income.

As further scrutiny reveals,In 2015 the dramatic rise was seen in $10,000 level of imcome .More than 30 million number of resident's received this revenue.Undertaking several other factors, $50,000-$74,999 remained approximately similar as 2011,The significantly climb was noticed in $25,000-$49,000 and imcome less than $25,000.Approximately 30 million of dewellers earned that salart.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the chart’s subject and include an overview, noting that the $100,000-or-more group was highest in 2015 and that the $75,000–$99,999 group was lowest in 2011. However, the response only partially reports the main features, and several comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. In 2007, the largest group was households earning $100,000 or more, but the $25,000–$49,999 group had about 27 million households, not 25 million. In 2011, the $25,000–$49,999 category was not the greatest; the under-$25,000 category was also higher. The 2015 rise concerned the $100,000-or-more group, not a “$10,000 level.” Focus on household numbers, accurately compare the five income bands, and make the overview cover the main changes across all three years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of detail. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “On the other hand” and “As further scrutiny reveals” attempt to connect points. However, progression within the detail is uneven: figures from different income groups are combined without a clear comparison, and the final paragraph shifts between categories without consistently identifying the year or trend. Some linking phrases feel mechanical or do not clarify the relationship between ideas. Use one paragraph to compare the lower and middle income bands and another for the higher bands, keeping each comparison in chronological order. Clearer references to the categories and years would make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “approximately,” “declined slightly,” and “dramatic rise,” showing an attempt to describe quantities and trends. However, the range is limited by repeated or unsuitable expressions, and some word choices make the data difficult to interpret. “Residential units” and “dewellers” do not naturally describe households, while “income got by American families” is awkward. There are also spelling errors such as “imcome” and “salart,” and “$10,000 level” misnames the chart’s highest income category. Prefer precise, repeated chart labels over decorative synonyms: use “households” consistently and name each income band accurately. This will improve clarity as well as the appropriateness of your vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including “As further scrutiny reveals” and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” However, errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and punctuation are frequent enough to make some statements difficult to read. For example, “The graph demonstrate” needs subject–verb agreement, and “30 million of individuals earned highest income” needs an article and a more accurate grammatical construction. Several sentences also run together after commas, while capital letters appear inconsistently after them. Practise writing shorter, complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, then check agreement and articles. Use full stops to separate comparisons, and apply consistent punctuation around year and income-category references.

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