Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-13

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 illustrates the number of households in the United States by their annual income in the year 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, it is clearly seen that the families who had the highest yearly income stood at the highest in 2015 and the same goes for year 2007. While the households earning between 75 to 99 thousands were the lowest in all the years.

In 2007, there were 29 million families earning more than 0.1 million dollars. On the other hand, around 26 million households were earning between 25 to less than 50 thousand dollars. In 2011, earning between 25 and 49 thousand dollars was the famous category which was practiced by 30 million people and the least famous category was 75 to 99 thousand dollars which was accounted for only 14 million families.

Moreover, 33 million households earned more than 10 thousand dollars followed by 28 million people earning 25 to 49 thousand dollars. Annual income of 75 to 99 thousand dollars was the least famous category in this period.–

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad pattern that the $75,000–$99,999 group was the smallest throughout, and you note the high-income group’s prominence in 2007 and 2015. However, the report only partly covers the chart: it gives little comparison across all three years and omits the stable $50,000–$74,999 category. Some figures or labels are inaccurate: in 2007 the $25,000–$49,999 group was about 27 million, not 26 million; in 2015, “more than 10 thousand dollars” misidentifies the $100,000-or-more group, which was about 33.5 million. The overview also overlooks the 2011 peak in the two lower-income groups. Select the main changes accurately and compare the categories more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a recognisable introduction, overview and year-based detail, so the reader can follow its general direction. However, progression is limited: the final paragraph begins with “Moreover” but does not clearly connect to the preceding 2011 discussion, and it gives 2015 figures without explicitly naming the year. The repeated description of the $75,000–$99,999 group as the “least famous category” also adds little new information. Grouping the data by meaningful trends—for example, the high-income group’s rise by 2015 and the stability of the middle-income group—would create a clearer progression. Use explicit year references and comparisons to make links between sentences more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “households,” “annual income,” “earning” and “category,” and the income ranges are generally understandable. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing statistical data. “The famous category” and “least famous category” do not mean the most or least common group, while “was practiced by 30 million people” is unsuitable for a household-income category. There is also inconsistency between “families,” “households” and “people,” although the chart counts households. Aim for precise reporting verbs and consistent terminology, and use the income bands as labels rather than paraphrasing them in ways that can change their meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including the contrast in “While the households … were the lowest” and the comparison introduced by “On the other hand.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some sentence structures are awkward or incomplete. The “While” clause in the overview is not joined to a main clause, and “the families who had the highest yearly income stood at the highest” has an unclear construction. In “In 2011, earning between 25 and 49 thousand dollars was the famous category,” the subject does not fit the intended meaning. Build complete sentences around the household groups, and check that clauses and subjects express the comparison clearly.

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