Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-01

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 chart illustrates the number of households in the US by their annual income in three selected years which are 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, the highest number of households are recorded as the annual income higher than 100,000 in 2015. Except 100,000$ category, other income categories did not showed a significant improvement or decline in the number of housholds.

The highest number of households had the annual income 100,000$ or more at roughly 33 million. in 2015, while the lowest number of people was in 75000$ - 99999$ income category approximately 15 million throuhout the given three years. Except 2011, the number of household who had an annual salary [redacted phone]$ or more managed to remain in higher position. Moreover, the 50,000$ - 74,999$ income category remained steady at around 21 million over time. In 2011, it was nearly 27 million.

When considering about less than 25,000$ income category , it was 25 million in 2007, followed by a significant development in 2011 at roughly 29 million. It dropped to nearly 23 million in 2015. The 25,000$ - 49,999$annual income category showed mild fluctuations such as it showed at 26 million in 2007, followed by increased upto 30 million in 2011 and again drpped at around 28 million in 2015

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the chart’s subject and provide an overview, correctly noting that the $100,000-or-more group reaches the highest level in 2015 and that the $50,000–$74,999 group stays stable. Several comparisons are relevant, and most figures are close to the chart. However, some details are inaccurate: the under-$25,000 group falls to about 28 million in 2015, not 23 million, and the $25,000–$49,999 figures are approximately 27, 29.5 and 28.5 million rather than 26, 30 and 28. The claim that the highest-income group remained in the higher position except in 2011 is also unclear, since it was the largest group in 2007 and 2015. More precise reporting and clearer comparisons would strengthen an already relevant response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs of supporting details. The information is generally grouped by income categories, and transitions such as “Overall,” “Moreover” and “When considering” help signal movement between points. However, progression is not always clear. The sentence “In 2011, it was nearly 27 million” follows the stable middle-income category and contradicts the stated figure of around 21 million, making the reference of “it” confusing. Some linking phrases, including “Except 2011,” are awkward or imprecise, and the final paragraph ends without a concluding comparison. Organise the figures more consistently and use explicit category references so the reader can follow each trend without having to infer what a pronoun refers to.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “annual income,” “income category,” “remained steady” and “mild fluctuations.” These expressions make the main comparisons understandable, and there is some attempt to vary wording rather than repeat “number” throughout. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “significant development” for an increase in household numbers and “managed to remain in higher position.” Spelling errors such as “housholds,” “throuhout” and “drpped” also reduce accuracy. Use standard chart language consistently—for example, “rose,” “fell,” “remained stable” and “accounted for”—and check spelling and collocations. This would make the description more precise while retaining the clear, accessible vocabulary already present.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview sentence beginning “Except 100,000$ category” and the comparison introduced by “When considering.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “other income categories did not showed,” where the verb should be “show,” and “the number of household who had,” which needs plural agreement and a suitable relative pronoun. The sentence “The highest number of households had the annual income…” also has an awkward structure, while punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent, as in “in 2015” after a full stop. Review verb forms after auxiliaries, singular/plural agreement, articles and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these patterns would improve clarity.

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