Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-25

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 given table illustrates information about families in one country spent their weekly income between 1968 and 2018.

overall, it is clear that average weekly spending by families. in addition 1968 and 2018. furthermore, food recorded the highest figures, whereas fuel and power had the lowest.

at the beginning of the period, food stood at 35 percent, while fuel and power was 7%. afterwords food decrease 18% in 2018. and fuel and power also decrease 3 % in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. Because the response is only 79 words, the information is severely underdeveloped. While you have identified the topic and some main features, such as the high spending on food and the low spending on fuel and power, you have not provided a comprehensive overview or sufficient detail. To improve, you must expand your analysis by including more data points from the chart and ensuring you compare the categories across both years in greater depth. The current summary is too brief to fully address the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response lacks a clear logical structure. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction and an overview, the paragraphing is non-existent, and the flow of ideas is disjointed. The use of cohesive devices like 'in addition' and 'furthermore' is mechanical and does not effectively link the sentences to create a cohesive argument. To improve, you should organize your response into distinct paragraphs: an introduction, an overview of the main trends, and two body paragraphs detailing specific data comparisons. Using a wider variety of linking words will help your ideas progress more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. You rely on basic verbs like 'recorded', 'stood', and 'decrease' throughout the text. There is also a lack of precision in describing the data; for example, 'recorded the highest figures' is a good start, but you need more varied ways to describe trends, such as 'experienced a significant decline' or 'remained relatively stable'. To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to data analysis and avoid repeating the same sentence structures. Expanding your range of synonyms will help you describe the changes in spending more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There are frequent grammatical errors that hinder the clarity of your writing. For instance, 'the given table illustrates information about families in one country spent their weekly income' is grammatically incorrect; it should be 'how families... spent'. Additionally, there are issues with verb tense consistency and sentence fragments, such as 'in addition 1968 and 2018'. You also have errors in subject-verb agreement, such as 'food decrease 18%'. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensure that your verbs match the time frame of the data. Practicing complex sentence structures will also help you achieve a higher band score.

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