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 following chart illustrates the number of households in millions in the US by their annual income in three different years, in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, the number of US households saw its biggest surge in 2015, while its lowest point were in 2007, 2011 and 2015 for specific group of individuals sorted by their annual income.

To begin with, the number of households saw a dramatic rise from 2007 to 2015 by the people who earn less than $25,000 a year. Individuals who earn between $25,000-$49,999 bought more households in 2011 compared to 2007, the number drops slightly in 2015.

Meanwhile, people with the annual income between $75,000-$99,99 went slightly down in 2011 compared to 2007, then the number increased modestly in 2015, while people with the annual income between $100,000 or more got a significant increase in the number of owned households in 2015 compared to 2011.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response identifies the chart’s subject and mentions several relevant movements, including the rise in the under-$25,000 group and the increase in households earning $100,000 or more by 2015. However, the overview is unclear and inaccurate: there is no single “biggest surge in 2015,” and the claim that the “lowest point” occurred in all three years does not identify a meaningful overall pattern. Important data are omitted, especially the stable $50,000–$74,999 group and the fact that the highest-income category was largest in 2015. Some comparisons are vague or misleading, and the response is 142 words, below the 150-word minimum; eight words copied from the prompt were excluded. Include a precise overview and support it with accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing income groups. Linking expressions such as “To begin with” and “Meanwhile” help signal movement between points. However, the progression is not fully clear because the overview’s reference to a “lowest point” is difficult to interpret, and the body paragraphs do not cover all five categories. Some sentences combine several comparisons, making the relationships harder to follow. For example, the final sentence moves from the $75,000–$99,999 group to the highest-income group without a clear separation of the trends. Group related categories more systematically and use clear comparisons to guide the reader through the data.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “dramatic rise,” “slightly,” “modestly,” and “significant increase,” and the income ranges are generally identifiable. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing household counts. “Bought more households” suggests purchasing homes rather than reporting how many households fall into an income band, while “people … got a significant increase in the number of owned households” is awkward and unclear. “Individuals” and “people” are also repeated where “households” would be more accurate. There is a noticeable range of descriptive terms, but greater precision and more natural collocations are needed. Prefer neutral reporting language such as “the number of households rose” or “the category recorded an increase.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses linked with “while” and “compared to,” and most of the intended meaning can be understood. However, errors in agreement and sentence construction remain. In the overview, “its lowest point were” mismatches a singular subject and verb; “specific group” also needs an article or plural form. The sentence beginning “Meanwhile” is overloaded, and its final clause does not form a clear grammatical comparison. Tense and number control are also uneven in “the number drops slightly,” which shifts from past reporting to present tense. Use consistent past tense for the years shown, check subject–verb agreement, and divide long comparisons into clearer sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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