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 summarise the number of households in the US by their annual income over the period of 2007, 2011 and 2015.

In 2007, the lowest number of annual income of 75,000-99,999 dollars covers almost 15 millions of households, while the maximum stands for almost 30 millions that is less than 25,000 dollars annual income.

On the other hand, 2011 and 2015 showed a drastic rise in number of the US households to enlarge the figures of households, there is no difference in their increased income except there is fall in the numbers of individuals with 25,000 dollars to almost 28 million individuals, retrospective to others with maximum rise of 100,000 dollars bracket covering almost 33 million households.

Overall, this period of 3 tenures had a rise over this period of time with lowest in 2007, and almost same surge of rise in 2011 and 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and mentions some relevant figures, including the roughly 15 million households in the $75,000–$99,999 group in 2007 and the rise of the $100,000-or-more group to about 33 million in 2015. However, it only minimally summarises the data: the claim that the lowest figure was in 2007 is inaccurate, since the $75,000–$99,999 category was lower in 2011, and the statement that there was a general rise overlooks categories that stayed stable or changed only slightly. The overview is unclear and comparisons across all three years are limited. The response is also 14 words below the 150-word minimum, which restricts its coverage. Add a clear overview and accurately compare the main trends across income groups.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation: the opening introduces the chart, the next paragraphs refer to data, and “Overall” signals an attempt at a summary. This gives the reader a broad sense of the topic. However, the progression is difficult to follow, particularly in the long second paragraph, where several years and income groups are combined in a sentence that does not clearly explain their relationships. Phrases such as “On the other hand” and “there is no difference” do not establish clear logical links, and the overview repeats the idea of a rise without specifying which categories rose. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and key comparisons, and connect each figure explicitly to its year and income band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “households,” “figures,” “rise,” “fall,” and “bracket,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear. For example, “the lowest number of annual income” confuses the income category with the number of households, while “to enlarge the figures” and “maximum rise” are not natural ways to describe the data. “Individuals” is also inaccurate for a chart counting households. Aim for precise phrases such as “the number of households in the income band” and “increased to,” and use the income categories consistently rather than relying on vague terms such as “figures.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “while” and a concluding sentence beginning “Overall.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors sometimes make the intended comparison difficult to understand. In the opening, “The bar chart summarise” has incorrect subject–verb agreement; “over the period of 2007, 2011 and 2015” is an awkwardly formed time phrase. The second paragraph contains a run-on structure after “households,” and the clause beginning “there is no difference” is not grammatically integrated with the rest of the sentence. Check agreement, sentence boundaries, and clause structure. Shorter, complete sentences would help you express comparisons accurately while you build control of complex forms.

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

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