The chart below gives information about the ratio of income to spending (in dollars) by Americans by age range in 2013.
Sample Response
This graph compares how much Americans spent with how much they earnedspent to how much income they made in 2013, by age group.
The data shows an overall rise and fall in both income and spending across young, middle-aged and older Americansbetween young, middle-aged, and older Americans. Income rises and falls more sharply than spending.
Those under 25 and over 75 spentactually spent slightly more than they earned. In contrast, between the ages of 25 and 64, Americans earned 10,000 to 20,000 dollars more than they spent. This difference was smallerThis difference shrinks in the 65-74 age group, where spending was just a few thousand dollars lower than incomewhere spending was just a few thousand dollars less.
In terms of actual numbers, those under 25 or over 75 earned and spent around 30,000 and 35,000 dollars, respectively. 25–34-year-olds25-34 year-olds and 65-74 year-olds both earned in the 50,000s and spent in the 40,000s. Among the middle age groupsIn the middle, between ages 35 and 64, income was 70,000-80,000 dollars, and spending ranged from roughly $55,000 to $60,000roughly 55 to 60 thousand.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is exceptionally clear and well organised, with fluent comparisons and precise language across the age groups. Its decisive limitation is that the attached visual does not provide legible evidence for the detailed income and spending amounts stated, so those claims cannot be verified against the required source. The highest-priority improvement is to report only trends and figures that are visibly supported by the supplied chart.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response offers a clear overview and detailed age-group comparisons, but the attached visual does not substantiate its specific income and spending figures.
Use only legible values and trends from the supplied chart, avoiding precise claims that cannot be verified from it.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically from the task introduction and overview to broad comparisons and then detailed figures.
For further refinement, make the final paragraph's grouping even more explicit by linking each numerical range to the relevant comparison.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible, concise, and precise, with natural language for describing differences, ranges, and changing patterns.
Replace slightly conversational wording such as 'how much income they made' with the more formal 'their income' for maximum precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is used accurately, and the few minor awkward choices do not impede communication.
Refine small phrasing issues, such as using 'among' rather than 'between' when referring to three broad age groups.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below gives information about the ratio of income to spending (in dollars) by Americans by age range in 2013.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.