Key features to report

• The $100,000 or more group was the largest in 2007 (about 29.5 million) and in 2015 (about 33 million, the highest bar on the chart), but in 2011 it fell to just under 28 million and dropped below the two lowest income groups.
• The two lowest brackets moved in the opposite direction: households earning less than $25,000 rose from about 25 million in 2007 to just under 29 million in 2011, and the $25,000-$49,999 group rose from about 27 million to almost 30 million, the largest group that year. Both then dipped slightly in 2015, to about 28 million and just under 29 million.
• The $50,000-$74,999 bracket was almost unchanged at about 21 million in all three years.
• The $75,000-$99,999 bracket was the smallest group in every year, staying between about 14 and 15 million (roughly 14.5, just under 14 and about 15 million).
• The figures are numbers of households in millions, not percentages or income levels, so answers should talk about how many households fell into each bracket.
• The general pattern is that the top and bottom of the income scale changed most, while the two middle-to-upper brackets were stable.

Model overview

Overall, households earning $100,000 or more formed the largest group in 2007 and 2015, while the $75,000-$99,999 bracket was consistently the smallest. The highest and the two lowest income groups fluctuated in opposite directions over the period, whereas the middle brackets hardly changed.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the task in one sentence: the bar chart compares how many US households, in millions, fell into five annual income brackets in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

2. 2

   Overview

   Without figures, state that the $100,000 or more group was usually the largest, the $75,000-$99,999 group was always the smallest, the top and bottom brackets moved in opposite directions, and the middle groups were stable.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 1: the top and bottom brackets

   Describe the $100,000 or more group (about 29.5 million in 2007, just under 28 million in 2011, about 33 million in 2015) and contrast it with the two lowest groups, which rose to just under 29 million and almost 30 million in 2011 before dipping slightly in 2015.

4. 4

   Body paragraph 2: the stable middle brackets

   Report that the $50,000-$74,999 group stayed at about 21 million in all three years and that the $75,000-$99,999 group remained the smallest, between about 14 and 15 million.

Useful comparisons

• Group the less than $25,000 and $25,000-$49,999 brackets together, because they rose and fell together.
• Contrast the two lowest brackets with the $100,000 or more bracket, which moved in the opposite direction in each period.
• Highlight the change in ranking in 2011, when the top income group fell from first to third place before becoming the largest again in 2015.
• Group the $50,000-$74,999 and $75,000-$99,999 brackets as the stable categories, noting that one stayed at about 21 million and the other at 14-15 million.
• Compare 2007 and 2015 directly: every group except the middle one was larger at the end, with the biggest gain (about 3.5 million) in the $100,000 or more group.
• Note the gap between the largest and smallest groups, which was about 15 million in 2007 and grew to roughly 18 million in 2015.

Band 8+ model answer

191 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Achievement

The answer gives a clear overview of the largest and smallest groups and of the contrasting movements, and it supports each key feature with accurate approximate figures without listing every bar.

Coherence and Cohesion

The data is organised into two logical groups, the changing brackets and the stable brackets, and linking devices such as however, by contrast and respectively make the comparisons easy to follow.

Lexical Resource

Precise vocabulary such as income bracket, high-earning households, rebounded and remained virtually unchanged is used naturally, and phrases like just under and roughly show careful approximation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The answer combines past simple and past perfect forms, comparative structures and complex sentences with relative and participle clauses, all used accurately.

Useful vocabulary

income bracket

a range of income, such as $50,000-$74,999, used to group households

household

all the people living together in one home, counted as a single unit

annual income

the total amount of money earned in a year

high-earning households

households with a large income, here $100,000 or more

lower-income households

households in the bottom income groups, here under $50,000

remain virtually unchanged

stay almost exactly the same

fluctuate

go up and down rather than moving steadily in one direction

dip slightly

fall by a small amount

rebound

rise again after a fall

overtake

become larger than another group

account for

make up or form a particular number or part

consistently the smallest

the lowest in every year shown

respectively

in the same order as the items just mentioned

Common mistakes

• Describing the figures as percentages or as amounts of money, when the chart shows the number of households in millions.
• Reporting every one of the 15 bars separately instead of grouping brackets that behaved in the same way.
• Missing the key change in 2011, when the $100,000 or more group fell below the two lowest income groups.
• Claiming that incomes rose or fell, when the chart only shows how many households were in each bracket, not changes in individual earnings.
• Leaving out an overview or filling it with figures, which limits the Task Achievement score.
• Copying the bracket labels incorrectly, for example writing $25,000-$50,000, or reading the 2015 top bar as 35 million.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This bar chart about the number of US households by annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015 is Writing Task 1 of Test 2 in Cambridge IELTS 18 Academic, published in 2023.

Should I organise my answer by year or by income group?

Organising by income group usually works better here, because it lets you show which brackets changed and which stayed stable. Mention the years inside each paragraph to describe the changes.

Do I need to mention every figure on the chart?

No. There are 15 bars, so select the key ones: the top income group in each year, the rise and fall of the two lowest groups, and the stable figures for the middle brackets.

How many words should I write for this Task 1?

Write at least 150 words; about 170-200 words is enough to give an overview and the main comparisons in 20 minutes.