Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-19

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 chart shows that how many number of households in United States with their anual income range in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

If we look the people with anual income of 75,000 to 99,999 have a minor change along the years from 14 million to 15 million. People with the anual income of above 100 thousand crated a major difference along the time from 29 million to 33 million. People with least income less than 25,000 raised from 25 to 28 in 2011 then again droped to 23 million in 2015.

People with income range from 55,000 to 74,999 remains same along the years from 2007 to 2015. People with income of around 25,000 to 49,999 raised a little in 2011 and again shows a minor drop in 2015.

Overall the graph shows the rise in number of peole with high income and low income range. People who lies in between are not increasing much.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant categories and give an overall comment that lower- and higher-income groups increased while middle groups changed little. However, some key figures and comparisons are inaccurate: the under-$25,000 group falls from about 28.5 million in 2011 to 28 million in 2015, not 23 million, and the $50,000–$74,999 group is unchanged at about 21 million, rather than the $55,000–$74,999 range you report. The highest-income group rises to about 33.5 million in 2015, the chart’s peak, but this standout feature is not clearly highlighted in the overview. To strengthen the response, check category labels and figures carefully, then summarise the main contrasts accurately before describing individual trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction, descriptions of several income groups, and a concluding overview. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Overall” signal the final summary. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the overview comes after the detailed comparisons, and the categories are presented in an order that does not make the main patterns easy to compare. Repeated openings such as “People with…” also make the account feel list-like. Grouping the two largest categories together, then the stable middle-income groups, would create clearer progression. Use linking expressions to show contrasts or similarities, rather than relying mainly on repeated sentence patterns.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to identify income groups and describe movement, including “minor change,” “major difference,” “raised,” and “droped.” However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for chart description. “People” is not the same as households, while “crated a major difference” does not clearly describe a rise. “Raised” is also less suitable than “increased” when reporting figures, and “lies in between” is an awkward way to describe middle-income groups. Spelling errors such as “anual,” “peole,” and “droped” are noticeable. Aim for precise terms such as “households,” “rose,” “fell,” and “remained stable,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates its general meaning, but grammatical errors occur frequently and the sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited control of more complex forms. The opening, “The chart shows that how many number of households,” has an incorrect clause structure; write “The chart shows the number of households.” In “If we look the people,” the verb pattern is incomplete, and “income … remains same” has a subject–verb agreement error and is missing an article. There are also tense and form problems in “raised … then again droped,” and the final sentence, “People who lies,” does not agree in number. Practise accurate comparative sentences and consistent past-tense reporting, while checking articles, agreement, and sentence construction.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.