Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-14

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 bar chart compares the yearly income of a number of US family in three different years including 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, from the statistics, it is certain that the average income per annum has surged substantially in US households with few housholds having absolutely constant earnings.

The highest income was generated by 30 million families with an earning of over and about 100,000 dollars in 2007 which fell slightly to 22 million households in 2011 and again reached 33 million in 2015. Similarly, 25 million families with about 49,999 dollars yearly income showed the same trend, where the income rose slightly from 2007 to 2011 but had a decline from 2011 to 2015.

In contrast, houses with 100,000 dollars or more annual income in 2007 had a recession in 2011 but again soard significantly in 2015. However, families with incomes between 50,000 to 99,999 dollars a year remaine stable over the period of 8 years from 2007 to 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response identifies some relevant broad patterns, including the rise in the $100,000-or-more group by 2015 and the stability of the $50,000–$74,999 category. However, key figures and categories are confused, which makes the account only minimally successful as a summary. The highest-income group was about 29.5 million in 2007, fell to 27.5 million in 2011, then rose to 33.5 million; the response instead gives 22 million for 2011. It also describes the $25,000–$49,999 group as having 25 million households, although its values were approximately 27–29.5 million. The overview’s claim that average household income surged is not demonstrated by this chart, which shows household counts by income band. Focus the overview on the largest changes and accurately distinguish the five bands.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of detail. Connectors such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships between points. However, progression is weakened by unclear or contradictory comparisons. The paragraph beginning “The highest income” appears to describe the $100,000-or-more group, but the next paragraph repeats that group with a different account, making the organisation difficult to follow. The reference to “families with incomes between 50,000 to 99,999” also combines two separate chart bands and obscures which figures are being summarised. Group the categories consistently—for example, compare the highest and lowest bands, then report the middle bands—and use clear references to avoid repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

There is some range in the vocabulary, including “rose,” “decline,” “stable,” and “substantially,” and the response generally communicates its intended comparisons. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing this chart. “The highest income was generated by 30 million families” confuses income with the number of households, while “recession” is not an appropriate description of a fall in household numbers. “Yearly income” and “annual income” are relevant, but the response needs more precise terms such as “households in the income bracket” and “the number increased.” Spelling slips such as “housholds,” “soard,” and “remaine” also reduce accuracy. Choose vocabulary that describes the measured quantity, and proofread spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the overview clause “with few households having…” and the comparison structure “where the income rose slightly… but had a decline.” Most sentences remain understandable, and errors do not generally prevent the reader from following the main point. Some grammatical control is still uneven: “a number of US family” needs a plural noun, and “incomes between 50,000 to 99,999” uses an incorrect paired preposition (use “between … and …”). The phrase “families with an earning of over and about 100,000 dollars” is also structurally awkward and unclear. Practise accurate plural forms and comparison patterns, and simplify sentences when a longer construction makes the relationship harder to express.

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

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