Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-16

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 below illustrates the strength of domestic units in the United Kingdom by their annual earnings over three years.

Overall, the number of households earning $100,000 or more increased significantly by 2015, while those earning between $50,000 and $74,999 remained relatively stable. The $75,000–$99,999 income group had the fewest households throughout the period.

The number of US households that are Less than $25,000 and $25,000-$49,999 both were significantly higher in 2011 than in other years, at approximately 28 million and other is around 30 million. In addition to this, income of $50,000 and $74,999 remained the same throughout the whole time. The ratio of earnings of $75,000-$99,999 is relatively high in 2015, contain exact 15 million households. Moreover, the proportion of wages that are $100,000 or more is considerably greater in 2015 than in other periods, which hold 33 million households. So, the largest income segment is observed in 2015 than

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response identifies several important features, including the rise in the $100,000-or-more group by 2015 and the stability of the $50,000–$74,999 category. It also correctly notes that the $75,000–$99,999 group was the smallest overall. However, the account is only partial: it gives few comparisons across all three years, and the claim that the two lowest-income groups were “significantly higher in 2011 than in other years” overlooks that both were slightly lower in 2015 than in 2011. The final sentence is unfinished, and the opening incorrectly identifies the country as the United Kingdom rather than the US. A fuller summary should report the main changes accurately and compare the highest and lowest categories across the period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph with selected figures. The overview helps the reader identify the main trends. However, progression within the final paragraph is uneven, with several points added one after another using “In addition to this,” “Moreover,” and “So,” rather than being grouped into clear comparisons. References such as “other” in “and other is around 30 million” are unclear, and the final sentence stops before completing its comparison. Organise the details by trend—for example, the two lower-income groups, the stable middle group, and the higher-income groups—and use linking phrases only where they clarify the relationship between points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant income-band vocabulary and attempts a range of reporting terms, including “increased significantly,” “remained relatively stable,” and “approximately.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing this chart. “Strength of domestic units” does not clearly mean the number of households, while “ratio” and “proportion” are unsuitable because the chart reports household counts, not percentages. “Income of $50,000 and $74,999” also misstates the category label. These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less precise. Prefer direct, consistent terms such as “number of households,” “income group,” and “stood at,” and reproduce the income ranges accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “while” in the overview and a relative clause in “which hold 33 million households.” However, control is inconsistent, and some sentence patterns are faulty or incomplete. For example, “both were significantly higher … and other is around 30 million” has an unclear structure and inconsistent verb form; “which hold 33 million households” does not agree with its subject; and the final sentence, “So, the largest income segment is observed in 2015 than,” is unfinished. There are also awkward tense shifts between past data and present forms such as “are” and “is.” Use complete sentences, keep the reporting tense consistent, and check subject–verb agreement and comparisons.

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

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