Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-04

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 bar graph illustrates the data of how families manage their expenses on a weekly basis in a country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, the information is about the average weekly spending of the families in 8 different categories (Food, Housing, Fuel and power, clothing and footwear, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure) in various years.

Initially, in 1968 the highest percentage of weekly income was invested on food, with a mark of 35%. Furthermore, during 2018 the largest proportion was kept spending on leisure by the families of the country nearly 25%. The families have spent a much smaller percentage of their weekly income on their other needs.

Moreover, most of the weekly income spent by the families in various years(1968, 2018) was in between 5 to 10% only. In contrast, the families have least spent on fuel and power with less than 5% in the year of 2018.

To conclude, the average spending of the country was about 10% of in their weekly incomes on their essential requirements.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response provides a basic overview of the data, but it fails to adequately highlight the most significant trends. While you correctly identify the shift from food to leisure, the analysis is superficial. You mention that most spending was between 5% and 10%, which is a vague observation that does not accurately reflect the data provided in the chart. Furthermore, the conclusion is inaccurate, as it claims spending on essential requirements was about 10%, which contradicts the data showing food and housing alone accounted for much higher percentages. To improve, ensure you provide specific data points for all categories mentioned and avoid making sweeping, inaccurate generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is weak. The second paragraph is redundant, as it repeats information already mentioned in the introduction. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Furthermore', and 'Moreover' is somewhat mechanical and occasionally misused, such as using 'Moreover' to introduce a point that does not logically follow the previous paragraph. The referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to track which year or category is being discussed. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring each paragraph has a distinct, clear purpose would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on basic verbs like 'manage', 'invested', and 'spent'. Phrases like 'with a mark of 35%' and 'kept spending on' are unnatural and imprecise. There is little attempt to use less common vocabulary or varied collocations related to data description. To reach a higher band, you should incorporate more sophisticated terminology such as 'accounted for', 'witnessed a significant decline', or 'remained relatively stable', and ensure that your word choices are contextually appropriate for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'illustrates the data of how families manage' is awkward, and 'the families have least spent on' is grammatically incorrect. There are also issues with preposition usage and article placement, such as 'in the year of 2018' and '10% of in their weekly incomes'. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors suggests a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct word order will help improve your accuracy.

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

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