Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-12

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 5.0)

The bar chart compares the information about how families in a country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, in 1968 families were mostly spending their money on food. While in 2018 most amount of their money were gone to Leisure activities.

Household goods have equal number of spending both in 1968 and 2018 which is 8%. In 1968 people were spending 7% on the personal goods which fell down to 4% in 2018. People were more spending on transportation in 2018 compared to 1968.

Fuel and power along with clothing and footware have higher percentage in 1968.Food decresed significantly from approximately 35% to 17%.leisure activities increased from approximately 9% to 22%. Transport spending also incresed from around 8% to 14%. Clothing and personal goods both decresed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s main contrast: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure was largest in 2018. You also report several relevant changes, including food falling from about 35% to 17%, leisure rising from about 9% to 22%, and transport increasing from 8% to 14%. However, coverage is partial: housing, which rose from 10% to 19%, is not discussed, and some comparisons are vague. The statement that personal goods were 7% in 1968 is slightly inaccurate; the chart shows 8%. The response also contains 120 words, below the required 150, with 10 prompt words excluded from the count. Add the key housing change and develop comparisons more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a recognisable structure, beginning with an introduction and an overall summary before giving details. This helps the reader identify the main message. However, the information does not progress smoothly: the paragraph moves from household goods to personal goods and transport, then returns to fuel, clothing, food and leisure. Several points are repeated, such as the increases in leisure and transport, and the final sentence largely restates earlier information. Linking is limited, with “While” and “along with” doing much of the work, and the punctuation around sentence boundaries is inconsistent. Group the categories by their main trends—for example, rising, falling and unchanged—and use clear comparisons to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary such as “weekly income,” “percentage,” “spending,” and “increased,” so the chart is generally understandable. There is some variation in how you describe changes, including “fell down” and “decreased,” but several choices are awkward or imprecise: “most amount of their money,” “were gone to,” and “people were more spending” do not sound natural in this context. Spelling errors in “decresed,” “incresed,” and “footware” also reduce accuracy. Aim for concise, standard chart language and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “rose” would help you describe the figures clearly without repeating “spending.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few different sentence forms, including the contrast in “While in 2018…” and the comparison “from approximately 35% to 17%.” Most of the intended meaning can be followed, but errors occur frequently in sentence construction and agreement. For example, “most amount of their money were gone” has problems with both the noun phrase and verb agreement, while “Household goods have equal number of spending” is not grammatically well formed. The sentence beginning “Fuel and power along with clothing…” also lacks a clear subject–verb structure, and missing spaces after full stops make punctuation less controlled. Practise accurate comparative patterns such as “spending on X was higher in 1968 than in 2018” and check each sentence for a complete clause.

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