Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-03

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 chart illustrates the annual income of the families living in the US and is compared with the years 2007, 2011 and 2015 respectively.

Talking about the households which earn less than $25,000 are almost 25 million in number in the year of 2007, gradually the number of such famalies increased upto almost 29 million in the year of 2011. There was a slight decline in the year 2015 which was about 27 million, where the familie's annual income was less than $25,000.

Talking about the families whose annual income is $25,000 - $49,999, initially the number of such households was almost 26 million in the year 2007, which then gradually increased to almost 30 million in the year 2011.

Thereafter, again fluctuation was seen in the upcoming year of 2015, but it was not that drastic, which was about 29 million.

The famalies whose annual income lies in the range of $50,000 - $74,999 has remaind the same in all the three years. Income of certain households which lies in the range of $75,000 - $99,999 has remained almost the same throughout the years of 2007, 2011, 2015 which is about 14 million to 15 million famalies. Lastly talking about the people who earn more than $100,000 have seen ups and downs through the years, in 2007 the number of families were almost 30 million, thereafter in 2011 there was decline making the number upto 28 million and lastly a sharp hike where the number of famalies reached upto 33 million.

Overall we can say that the annual incomes of people have mild to moderate fluctuations in the progressing years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all five income groups and report the main movements, including the stability of the $50,000–$74,999 group and the rise in households earning at least $100,000 by 2015. Most figures are close to the chart, though the 2015 figure for under $25,000 is given as about 27 million rather than about 28 million. Your overview—“mild to moderate fluctuations”—is relevant but too general: it does not identify the key contrast that the highest-income group rose sharply by 2015 while the middle-income group stayed stable. Some categories are also described more fully than others. A clearer overview and more precise selection of the most significant comparisons would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall sequence: it moves through the income bands and ends with a summary, and paragraph breaks help separate the information. This gives the report a coherent arrangement. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes mechanical because several sections begin with “Talking about,” and “Thereafter” and “Lastly” are used repeatedly to mark time rather than to show meaningful comparisons. The final overview is also detached from the detailed trends it should synthesise. To strengthen cohesion, group categories with similar patterns and use clearer comparisons between them—for example, contrast the stable middle-income group with the sharp 2015 increase in the highest-income group. More precise referencing would also reduce repetition of “families” and “households.”

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “gradually increased,” “slight decline,” “remained the same,” and “sharp hike.” These choices make the main movements understandable, and the income categories are generally identified clearly. Some word choices and collocations are imprecise or repetitive, however. “Fluctuation was seen” is awkward for a small rise followed by a fall, while “the annual incomes … have mild to moderate fluctuations” does not accurately describe changes in household numbers. There are also spelling errors such as “famalies” and “remaind,” and “upto” should be written as two words. Use more precise trend language and check spelling to improve control and clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses linked with “which” and time expressions such as “thereafter.” The meaning is generally clear, but some errors in sentence structure, agreement, tense, and punctuation remain. For example, “The chart … is compared with the years” gives the chart an unclear relationship to the years; “The families … has remained” has a subject–verb agreement error; and “the number of families were” should use a singular verb with “number.” The opening sentence of the second paragraph is also a fragment-like construction: “Talking about the households … are almost 25 million.” Build complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and punctuation in longer clauses.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.