Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below gives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

1968 and 2018: average weekly spending by families

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The chart provides information about the families in one country how they invest their weekly income in the duration of 1968 and 2018.

overall, the investment in the period of 1968 declined steadily throughout the year but in 2018 it maintained steadily. Despite this, the majority of the amount was spent on the food in both the periods.

In the period of 1968 the family spent on the housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport , and leisure have approxemetly 10 percent, but the highest percent was seen on the food which is almost 35 percent which is the highest among the others.

In the period of 2018 family spent their income more housing, transport and leisure which is more than 20 percent compare to other, we can also see a steady percentage in the fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods which in between 5 to 10 percent only.

in 1968 and 2018 people have chaged their priority from food to other things like housing, transport and leasure, earlier the family used to spent more on food only, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast: food was the largest category in 1968, while spending shifted towards leisure, housing and transport by 2018. However, the overview is not fully accurate: spending did not “decline steadily” in 1968 or “maintain steadily” in 2018, since the chart compares two years rather than showing changes over time. The claim that food was the majority in both years is also incorrect; it was 35% in 1968 and 17% in 2018. Some figures are grouped too broadly: housing, fuel, clothing and household goods were not all approximately 10% in 1968, and in 2018 only leisure exceeded 20%, while housing was about 19%. Report the key comparisons more precisely to make the summary complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and paragraphs describing each year, so the reader can follow the broad topic. However, progression is weakened by repeated references to “the period of 1968” and “the period of 2018,” and the final paragraph repeats the shift in priorities without adding clear data. Some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “Despite this” after the overview’s claim about steady spending. The long list of categories in the 1968 paragraph also makes the comparison difficult to follow. Organise the details around the most important contrasts—food’s fall, and increases in leisure, housing and transport—and use clear comparisons between the two years.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “housing,” “fuel and power” and “household goods,” and the reader can generally understand the categories being discussed. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unsuitable for describing chart data. “Invest” and “investment” suggest putting money into an asset, rather than spending it, while “maintained steadily” does not clearly describe the figures. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “footware,” “approxemetly,” “chaged” and “leasure.” Repeated use of “spent” and “percentage” further limits variety. Use precise reporting language such as “accounted for,” “rose,” “fell” and “share of expenditure,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more extended sentences, and the main subject is usually understandable. However, errors are frequent, and some sentence patterns are difficult to interpret. For example, “the families in one country how they invest” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “the family spent on … have approximately 10 percent” mixes incompatible verb forms and does not clearly identify what the percentage refers to. Articles and number agreement are also inconsistent, as in “in 2018 family spent their income.” The overview’s sentence beginning “Despite this” is not joined clearly to the preceding idea. Practise accurate comparison structures, such as “Families spent 35% on food in 1968, compared with 17% in 2018,” and check sentence boundaries, articles and verb forms.

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