Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-29

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 6.0)

The bar graph gives information about the numbers of households in the US according to their yearly income, in millions, in three different years, which are 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Overall, households are divided into 5 categories on the basis of income amounts. In all three different years, the most significant change can be observed in the ($100,000 or more) segment. In contrast, ($75,000-$99,999) and ($50,000-$74,999) are two segments, which remained almost similiar in all three years.

In 2007, households with yearly income less than $25,000 were 25 million, which increased to 28 million and than decresed to 27 million in year 2011 and 2015 respectively. meanwhile, similiar trend can be observed for homes with annual income in category ($25,000-$49,999), where initial figures were 27 million, which grew to 30 million and later fell to 28 million in respective years.

Moreover, households in segment ($75,000-$99,999) showed minimal changes from 14 million in 2007 to 13 million in 2011 and than grew to 15 million in 2015. Interestingly, homes with annual income $50,000-$74,999 were similiar in figures in all three years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s five income groups and provide a clear overview, noting that the two middle-income categories changed little. You also report several figures and trends accurately, including the rise and subsequent fall in the two lowest brackets. However, the overview misses the most important feature: households earning $100,000 or more were the largest group in 2007 and rose sharply to about 33.5 million by 2015, the highest figure shown. This category is mentioned as having the “most significant change” but is not described in the body, leaving a major part of the data unsupported. Some reported values are also slightly inaccurate, such as the 2015 figures for the lowest brackets. Prioritise the largest changes and compare the high-income group across all three years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing data. The sequence from the lower-income groups to the remaining categories is generally easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “In contrast,” “Moreover,” and “Interestingly” help signal relationships. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some effective progression. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical, with repeated sentence patterns such as “which increased… and then decreased” and repeated references to “segment” or “category.” The overview also promises discussion of the $100,000-or-more group, but the body never follows through, weakening the connection between paragraphs. Grouping the two lowest brackets together and then directly comparing the highest bracket with the stable middle groups would make the progression more purposeful.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “annual income,” “categories,” “increased,” “minimal changes,” and “remained,” so the main comparisons are understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “on the basis of” and “initial figures.” However, some choices are awkward or imprecise: “the most significant change can be observed in the… segment” is not followed by details, and “homes” is less suitable than “households” in this context. Spelling errors such as “similiar” and “decresed” are noticeable, while “yearly income” and “annual income” are repeated alternatives that could be used more consistently. Aim for precise chart language and check spelling carefully; this would make the vocabulary more controlled and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“which increased to 28 million”) and contrast structures (“In contrast…”). Most sentences communicate the intended comparisons, and errors rarely prevent understanding. Some grammatical issues remain, however. In “in year 2011 and 2015,” the article is missing, and “in all three different years” is unnecessarily repetitive. The sentence beginning “In 2007, households… were 25 million” has an awkward construction; “there were 25 million households…” would be clearer. Punctuation and capitalisation also need attention: “meanwhile” should begin a new sentence with a capital letter, and the income labels do not need parentheses. Continue varying sentence structures, while checking articles, sentence boundaries, and the grammatical framing of figures.

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