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 illustrates the information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, it is clear that the figure of food is biggest share compared to seven, while the fewest Fuel and power spend their income in both years. It is noticeable that the Household good remain constant in both years.

To commence, in 1968 the food rose dramatically income at 35%, whereas the in 2018 it drop accounted for 17%. Moreover, in 1968 the Housing become less weekly income 10% nevertheless, in 2018 it rising extra amount of 9%. Furthermore, the Fuel and power is extremly low using in both years in 2018 at 4% but in 1968 it marginally rise 6%.

On the other side, the clothing and footware in 1968 climb more but in 2018 it fall again 5%. In addition, the Household good which remain unchange in both years ay 13% respectively. The personal good in 1968 growing similarly to household 13%. Although, in one country the transport raising significantly from 7% to 14%. Finally, the most dramatically changes have seen in the Leisure in 1968 at 8% additionally in 2018 it jumped directly from 8% to 22%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important patterns, including the sharp fall in food spending, the rise in housing and transport, and the increase in leisure. However, some figures are inaccurate: household goods stayed at 8%, not 13%, and personal goods fell from 8% to 4%, rather than rising to 13%. The overview also incorrectly calls fuel and power the smallest category in both years; in 2018, personal goods was equally low at 4%. These errors weaken the accuracy of the summary, and some comparisons are not clearly expressed. To strengthen the response, check each figure against the chart and give a concise overview of the largest changes and the categories that remained stable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs of details. It also uses linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore” and “Finally” to connect points. However, the progression within the detail paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, and several transitions feel mechanical or do not show a clear relationship between ideas. For example, “On the other side” does not establish a meaningful contrast, while the final sentence repeats the leisure comparison already introduced in the overview of changes. Grouping categories more consistently—for example, increases together and decreases or stable figures together—and using clearer references would make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of vocabulary for describing change, including “rose dramatically,” “marginally” and “raising significantly.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for chart description, such as “the figure of food,” “the food rose dramatically income” and “jumped directly.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “extremly,” “footware,” “unchange” and “good” where the plural category is intended. These issues sometimes make the meaning less clear. Aim for precise, conventional expressions such as “accounted for,” “increased,” “fell” and “remained unchanged,” and check spelling and category names carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use some longer sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “whereas” and “although,” but attempts at complex structures are often faulty. For instance, “in 1968 the food rose dramatically income at 35%” lacks a clear grammatical relationship between the subject and the figure, and “the Household good which remain unchange in both years ay 13% respectively” has problems with clause structure, verb form and agreement. Tense and sentence construction are also inconsistent in phrases such as “the Housing become less weekly income.” These errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the report difficult to interpret. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject, verb and percentage.

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