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 data provide information about the weekly income spent by families in one particular country, measured in percentage, in the two specific years- 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it can be seen that food experienced a significant decline. Weeklly income spent on food, fuel and power, and clothing and footwear declined whereas it increased for housing, transport and leisure. Household goods remained stable.

In 1968, families spent most of their income on food, at about 35%, which steadily decreased and reached to 17% i

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s subject and give a useful overview, noting the fall in food spending, the increases in housing, transport and leisure, and the stability of household goods. These are relevant main features. However, the report is only a partial response: it stops mid-sentence at “reached to 17% i” and gives no completed comparisons or details for most categories. The overview also says fuel and power and clothing declined, but this is not supported with figures or further explanation. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, which leaves the task minimally addressed. To improve, complete the report and select key figures to compare, especially the largest changes and the categories with the highest spending in each year.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview beginning “Overall,” and a detail paragraph beginning “In 1968.” This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and the overview groups several trends together. However, the progression is incomplete because the final paragraph breaks off mid-sentence, so the comparison is not developed. The overview also lists trends without moving on to explain them with supporting figures. Use separate, complete detail paragraphs to compare the main categories across the two years, and connect each claim to relevant data. Cohesive links such as “by contrast” or “while” could help make those comparisons clearer without simply listing trends.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use several appropriate terms for describing a chart, including “percentage,” “decline,” “increased,” and “remained stable.” These choices make the general trends understandable. The range is nevertheless limited, with repeated reliance on basic words such as “spent” and “income,” and some phrasing is not natural for this task. For example, “food experienced a significant decline” is less precise than saying that the proportion of weekly income allocated to food fell. “Reached to 17%” is also an awkward collocation, while “particular country” and “two specific years” add little precision. Aim for accurate expressions such as “accounted for,” “the share allocated to,” and “fell to,” and check spelling, including “weekly.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You produce some clear sentence forms, including the overview sentence contrasting categories that declined with those that increased. The opening sentence also communicates the chart’s subject, and the use of past-tense verbs such as “spent” and “decreased” is generally appropriate for the years shown. However, the response offers little variety in sentence structure, and the unfinished final sentence (“reached to 17% i”) prevents the reader from seeing a complete comparison. The hyphenated construction “years- 1968 and 2018” is also poorly punctuated. Practise writing complete sentences that combine a category, its figures and a comparison, and check punctuation and sentence endings before submitting.

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