Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-14

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 given chart illustrates information in one country that how families spent their weekly income between the years 1968 and in 2018.

In summary, most resources are spent in the catagory of food with percentage of (35%) in 1968 and (18%)in 2018 while the lowest income spent fuel and power category.

In the years between 1968 the threecategories housing,clothing, and leisure almost remains same with the percentage (10 %) while leisure with (8%) the chart indicates also these categories in 2018 the housing and leisure increases and remains almost same while clothing decreased (5%) complete.The next categories on which money was spent are food,household goods and transport the money spent on food was (35%) in 1968 and (18%) in 2018 we can saw it deduces half percentage almost.Next is household goods the resources spent on this category was remained same (8%) in all that years.last category shown in chart was transport we saw a decreasion in this category was (8%) in 1968 and was (13%) in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two years and report several relevant figures, including food at 35% in 1968 and about 18% in 2018, housing rising, clothing falling, and household goods staying at 8%. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: food is the largest category in 1968, but leisure—not food—is largest in 2018, at 22%; fuel and power is the lowest in both years. The claim that housing, clothing and leisure were almost the same in 1968 is also incorrect, since leisure was 9%, not 10%, and the later comparison is unclear. Cover the main shifts more selectively and accurately, especially the rise in leisure and transport and the fall in food, to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an opening, a summary statement and a longer body section, and it attempts to group categories and compare the years. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the body moves between housing, clothing, leisure, food, household goods and transport without a clear organising principle. Phrases such as “The next categories” and “last category shown” do not make the relationships between the data clear, while “these categories” has an uncertain reference. Some linking is also repetitive. Organise the report into a clear overview followed by comparisons of the largest changes and the remaining categories, and use precise references such as “these three categories” only when the group is unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “category,” “resources” and “decreased,” so the reader can recognise that you are describing spending data. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “lowest income spent fuel and power,” “resources spent,” and “we can saw it deduces half percentage.” Repetition of “category” and “spent” also makes the report less precise. Spelling errors such as “catagory,” “decreasion” and “remains” further affect clarity. Use standard chart language and accurate collocations—for example, say that families “allocated” or “spent” a proportion of income on a category, and that a figure “fell” or “rose.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, but control is inconsistent, and several sentences are difficult to interpret. Examples include “The given chart illustrates information in one country that how families spent…” and “the threecategories housing,clothing, and leisure almost remains same,” where word order, agreement and sentence construction are faulty. Verb forms are also problematic in “we can saw” and “was remained same.” Articles, prepositions and punctuation are often missing or misplaced, as in “in all that years” and the crowded category lists. Build shorter, complete sentences first, then add comparisons using reliable patterns such as “Food accounted for…” and “The proportion spent on housing rose from… to…”.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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