Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chat illustrates the amount of housholders in millions by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015, in United States.

At a glance, it is quite evident that by the years the number of the houlsholders whose income is $75,000-99,999 increased gradually whereas the number of the houisholders whose income is $100,000 or more and the householders $75000-99,999 remained stable. Perhaps, other housholders income flactuated.

Extrapolating from the chart it can be observed that, in 2007 less than $25000 householders income was 25 million which increased by the years and reached nearly about 30 million in 2011. But in the year of 2015 it fell a little. Moreover, the householders whose income is $25,000-$49,999 has quite the same result as the previous householder.

On the other hand, the householders whose income is $50,000- $74,999, from 2007 to 2015 their annual income remained stable. Nevertheless, the householders whose income is less than $25000 started with about 30 million in 2007 it flactuated in the year 2011 but increased sharply in the year 2015 which is nearly $35,000 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and include some relevant figures, such as 25 million for the lowest-income group in 2007 and the stable figure of about 21 million for the $50,000–$74,999 group. However, the overview is unclear and contains major contradictions: it says the $75,000–$99,999 group increased gradually, although it falls slightly before rising, and says the $100,000+ group remained stable, despite its marked rise to about 33.5 million in 2015. The final paragraph then assigns the highest-income group’s trend to households earning under $25,000, and gives an incorrect unit. Several categories and years are therefore misreported, so the main features are only partially conveyed. Check each trend against the chart and give a concise, accurate overview before details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to organise the response into an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “On the other hand” show an effort to connect ideas. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the overview and final paragraph contradict the details, and the same income groups are revisited without a clear organising principle. For example, the lowest-income category is described in paragraph three and then described again with a different trend in the final paragraph. Some connectors, including “Nevertheless,” do not clarify the relationship between the points that follow. Group the categories consistently, avoid repeating them, and use transitions only when they accurately signal contrast or addition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “remained stable,” “increased,” and “fluctuated,” and the income bands are generally identifiable. However, the range is limited and several repeated or inaccurate expressions make the report less clear. “Householders” is used where “households” is needed, and “annual income was 25 million” confuses the income measure with the number of households. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “housholders,” “houlsholders,” and “flactuated,” as well as inconsistent formatting of income ranges. Use precise chart language such as “the number of households in this income band,” and check spelling and category labels carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning “whereas” and “which,” and the overall meaning can often be recovered. However, complex constructions are frequently faulty or incomplete. For example, “the householders whose income is $50,000–$74,999, from 2007 to 2015 their annual income remained stable” has an awkward, duplicated subject structure; a clearer version would be “The number of households earning $50,000–$74,999 remained stable from 2007 to 2015.” The sentence beginning “At a glance” also combines several claims in a way that obscures their relationships. Articles, prepositions and punctuation are inconsistent, and some sentences run together. Practise concise subject–verb structures and proofread each sentence for a clear subject and accurate verb.

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