Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-26

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 4.0)

The bar chart illustrates the information about amount of households in the US by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015. There was record of five diiferent income that was given in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, in the beginning of 2007 the less than $25,000 was the annual income of 25 miilion household. So $25,000-$49,999 was the income of 27 million house and $50,000-$74,999 was the income of 21 millions households and $75,000-$99,999 was the annual income of 14 million houses. and $100,000 or more dollars was the income of 29 million households. As compare to this year in 2011 starts from less than $25,000

.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and names all five income bands, with several 2007 figures that are broadly close to the data. However, it does not provide a clear overview of the main trends or complete the comparison across all three years: the account stops after “in 2011 starts from less than $25,000,” leaving 2011 and 2015 largely unreported. The figures are also presented as income amounts rather than numbers of households in each income band, which makes the description unclear. The response is 94 words, below the required 150, and this limits the coverage and development of the task. To improve, summarise the key changes and highest/lowest categories, then support that overview with accurate comparisons for each year.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to introduce the chart and then describe the data, and the years provide some potential structure. However, the response has no developed progression: it lists the 2007 categories in one long sequence and then begins a comparison with 2011 without completing it. The opening sentence of the second paragraph is difficult to follow, and the final fragment leaves the reader without a conclusion or overview. Linking is also limited; “So” and “As compare to this year” do not clearly express the relationships between the figures. Organise the response into a brief introduction, an overview of the main trends, and one or two paragraphs comparing the years. Use clear links such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile” only where they accurately show a comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses relevant chart vocabulary, including “bar chart,” “annual income,” “households,” and the income ranges, so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “There was record of five different income” and “the income of 25 million household.” “House” is also used where “households” is needed, and “miilion” and “diiferent” are misspelled. These errors sometimes make the intended meaning harder to interpret, particularly because the figures refer to household counts rather than income itself. Build a small set of accurate reporting phrases, such as “the number of households earning…” and “the figure rose/fell to…,” and check spelling and plural forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both a simple opening sentence and longer sentences joined with “and,” but the range is narrow and control is inconsistent. For example, “So $25,000-$49,999 was the income of 27 million house” is not formed as a clear comparison, while “As compare to this year in 2011 starts from less than $25,000” has an incomplete and grammatically unclear structure. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, as in “25 miilion household” and the lower-case “and” after a full stop. These issues make parts of the description difficult to follow. Use shorter, complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and practise comparative structures such as “The figure for this group rose from… to…”.

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.