Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-31

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)

The chart illustrates the number of households by their yearly income in 2007, 2011 and 2015 in the US.

Overall, there's around 20 millions households with the income of 50000 to 74999 and 75000 to 99999 in all 3 years steadily. However, those with $[redacted phone] or more income has increased over time from 30 to 35 millions household, so has the familieswith less than $25,000 income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s subject and make an attempt at an overview, noting that the $100,000-or-more group rises and that the $50,000–$74,999 group is stable. However, the response reports only a small selection of the main features and contains an important misreading: the $75,000–$99,999 group is about 14–15 million, not around 20 million. The lower-income group rises to 2011 and then dips slightly, rather than increasing steadily. The $25,000–$49,999 category, which is among the largest groups, is not discussed. The response is also substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the comparisons and key trends undeveloped. Include a clear overview and support it with accurate comparisons across all three years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, sensible structure: an introductory sentence is followed by an overview beginning with “Overall.” This makes the purpose of each part reasonably clear. However, the answer ends after the overview, so there is no developed sequence of details or comparisons to guide the reader through the chart. The sentence beginning “However” also groups several categories together without clearly distinguishing their different trends. To improve progression, use a short overview followed by a paragraph comparing the income groups, linking figures with phrases such as “by contrast,” “while,” and “by 2015.” Ensure each comparison clearly identifies the category and year being discussed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “illustrates,” “income,” “increased,” and “steadily,” and the income bands are recognisable. However, the range is limited, with repeated reliance on basic terms such as “income” and “households,” and some expressions are imprecise or awkward. For example, “with the income of 50000 to 74999” is less natural than “earning between $50,000 and $74,999,” while “familieswith” contains a spacing error and “millions household” is not an appropriate plural expression. Use precise reporting language such as “stood at,” “rose to,” and “remained stable,” and present income ranges consistently with dollar signs and commas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response communicates its basic meaning through a few simple sentence forms, including a clear introductory sentence and an overview introduced by “Overall.” There is an attempt to use a more complex structure in “so has the families…,” but the construction is incomplete and the subject–verb agreement is incorrect. Other errors include “20 millions households,” “income … has increased,” and “in all 3 years steadily,” which show problems with plural forms, agreement, and sentence structure. The range is narrow, and these errors make parts of the overview difficult to follow. Practise accurate comparisons using complete clauses—for example, “The number of households earning at least $100,000 increased, while the under-$25,000 group rose before falling slightly.”

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