Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-28

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)

This chart illustrates the yearly earning of residents in the US by the year 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall the number of households earning [redacted phone] dollar or more increased considerably over the period becoming the highest in 2015 where as earning ranging between [redacted phone]9 remained lowest throughout.

In 2007 approximately 25 million households earned less than a [redacted phone] dollars where as 27 million households were earning [redacted phone]9 dollars. By 2011 the figures saw a change which were now 28 and 29 million. In 2015 households earning less than 25000 dollars remained stable at 27 million while the other category accumulated to 28 million.

On the other hand households earning [redacted phone]9 were 20 million and stayed constant throughout from 2007 till 2015 where as households which were earning between [redacted phone]9 were the lowest at 14 million and remain unchanged through out the years. More in 2007 27 million house holds had a earning of [redacted phone] dollars which by the time saw a little decrease in 2011 but later in 2015 it spiked to almost 34 million being the highest.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide an overview that identifies the strongest overall change: households earning $100,000 or more rose to the highest figure in 2015. You also note that the $75,000–$99,999 group was among the smallest. However, several figures and trends are inaccurate or unclear. For example, in 2007, 25 million refers to households earning under $25,000, not under $100,000; the $100,000-plus figure was about 29.5 million. The $50,000–$74,999 group was around 21 million, rather than 20, and the $75,000–$99,999 category did not remain unchanged, rising from about 14.5 to 15 million. More accurate comparisons across all five income groups would make the report more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by paragraphs describing the figures, and phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” help signal relationships. However, progression is not consistently clear: the second paragraph moves between income groups and years, while the final paragraph returns to the highest-income group after discussing the lower categories. Some linking phrases are also awkward or do not show a clear contrast, particularly “More in 2007.” Grouping the figures more systematically—for example, discussing the two lower-income bands together and then the higher-income bands—would make comparisons easier to follow. Clearer references to each category would also reduce the effort required to interpret the figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “increased considerably,” “remained stable,” “decrease,” and “spiked,” so the main trends are generally understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise for a chart report. “Yearly earning of residents” does not accurately describe the number of households in income bands, and “accumulated to 28 million” is not a natural way to report a figure. There are also inconsistent ways of naming the categories, such as “earning ranging between” and “households had a earning.” Aim for precise, repeated terms such as “households in the income bracket” and verbs such as “stood at,” “rose to,” or “fell to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses beginning “whereas” and “which by the time…,” but control is uneven. Errors in sentence construction and verb forms appear in examples such as “the figures saw a change which were now 28 and 29 million” and “remained stable … while the other category accumulated.” The sentence beginning “More in 2007” is also incomplete or incorrectly connected to the preceding idea. Articles and number forms are sometimes missing or inconsistent, as in “a earning.” Use shorter, complete sentences when comparing figures, and check that each clause has a clear subject and a verb that agrees with it.

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