Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

we have a chart above in which we can see the information about number of household by their annual income in three different year. As we can see that the income is divided into five different classes .

After extracting information from the chart we can see that in all three year the income class of 25,000 to 49,999 Dollars was the lowest among all other classes approximately 15 million households. The income class of 100,000 was highest in 2005 with approximately 29 million households then in 2011 its was in third place the income class from 25,000 to 49,999 and income class less then 25,000 were above from it but then in 2015 w can see that that 100,000 class was on top in between 30 to 35 million households. In my opinion i think that the class of people who earn more then 100,000 was on third place from all five classes is 2011 is because of the great recession of 2008 in which millions of people lost their money so at that time people were just recovering from it.

All these income classes are equally important to run a country smoothly because if any of there classes miss it can cause great inflation which can unstable a state

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies the five income groups and attempts to compare the years, but it reports several key features inaccurately, which limits how fully it addresses the chart. The $25,000–$49,999 group was not the lowest in every year: it was among the highest, at about 27–29.5 million. The $75,000–$99,999 group was the smallest, at roughly 14–15 million. You also refer to 2005 rather than 2007, and the claim that the $100,000-or-more group ranked third in 2011 is incorrect; it was second. The recession explanation and comments about inflation are not shown by the chart. Focus on an accurate overview and comparisons grounded in the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation: the opening introduces the chart, the main paragraph attempts to compare income groups across years, and a final paragraph gives a concluding comment. However, the response does not progress clearly from an overview to selected comparisons. The long middle paragraph combines several figures, rankings, and an unsupported explanation, making the relationships difficult to follow. Linking phrases such as “then” and “but then” show an attempt to sequence information, but they are repetitive and sometimes connect inaccurate or unclear points. A clearer structure would present the main trends first, then compare the highest and lowest groups in a separate paragraph. Use precise references such as “this group” only when the category is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “income class,” “households,” “highest,” and “third place,” so the reader can recognise the general subject. However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or awkward, such as “income class,” “above from it,” and “on top in between 30 to 35 million households.” Repetition of “class” and “we can see” also makes the description less precise. The final comments about “run a country smoothly” and “great inflation” are not suitable substitutes for describing the chart’s data. Build a more accurate set of terms for categories, quantities, and change—for example, “income bracket,” “numbered,” “remained stable,” and “rose to”—and use them consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences with clauses, but these are often faulty, and simple sentence patterns dominate. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in phrases such as “in all three year,” “its was,” and “the class … is … in 2011.” Articles and sentence construction are also inconsistent, as in “the income class of 100,000 was highest.” Punctuation and capitalisation need attention: several sentences begin with lowercase letters, and the middle paragraph runs together multiple ideas. These errors sometimes make the comparisons difficult to understand. Practise writing shorter, complete sentences first, then combine related points with accurate clauses, checking subject–verb agreement, past-tense forms, and sentence boundaries.

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