Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-15

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)

This chart illustrates the number of households and their annual income in the US among the three years. From this, we can understand the economic infustructure of a country.

In 2007, most of the household's annual income was more than $1,00,000. The number was around 30 millions. Additionally, the some households annual income was $75,000-$99,99 around 75 millions. On the otherhand, the remaining households annual income was almost the same.

In 2011, Most of the household's annual income was very high but the few number of people's income was comparatively low. $25,000-$49,9000 range income households is the highest in this year and around 30 millions

In the last year, we can see that the highest annual income among the three years. More than 30 millions household's annual income was more than $1,00,000. It was a huge number but in this year every household's annual income had rise comparatively other years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies some relevant features, including that the $100,000-or-more group was largest in 2007 and reached more than 30 million in 2015. However, the chart is only minimally reported: several figures and categories are misread, such as describing the $75,000–$99,999 group in 2007 as “around 75 millions” rather than about 14.5 million. The 2011 account is vague, and the claim that every income group rose in 2015 is inaccurate; the $50,000–$74,999 group stayed level, while the two lower-income groups were slightly below their 2011 figures. There is no clear overview of the main patterns across all three years, and the opening comment about a country’s economic infrastructure is not supported by the chart. Select accurate comparisons and summarise the overall trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, with separate paragraphs for 2007, 2011 and 2015, and time markers such as “In 2007” and “In the last year” help the reader follow the sequence. However, the organisation is mainly year-by-year and does not build a clear overall comparison or progression. Linking phrases such as “Additionally” and “On the other hand” are used, but the relationships between the points are not always clear, and the final paragraph repeats a general claim rather than drawing the main trends together. Some references, including “the remaining households,” are unclear. Grouping the income categories by their trends and adding a concise overview would make the information easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “annual income,” “households,” “range” and “highest,” so the reader can recognise the topic. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate or awkward, sometimes making the data difficult to interpret. Examples include “economic infustructure,” “the highest annual income among the three years,” and “a huge number.” Income bands are also written inconsistently, such as “$25,000-$49,9000,” which obscures the category. Aim for precise chart language, including “income bracket,” “number of households,” “rose” and “remained stable,” and check spelling and the exact figures in category labels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentence forms, and the time-based openings provide a basic framework. However, the range is limited, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and verb forms occur frequently enough to make some statements difficult to understand. For example, “the some households annual income was” has an unclear noun phrase, while “every household's annual income had rise” has faulty agreement and verb form. “$25,000-$49,9000 range income households is the highest” also lacks a clear grammatical structure. Practise forming accurate comparisons with a clear subject and verb, such as “The number of households earning $100,000 or more rose to about 33.5 million in 2015.”

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

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