Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 compares weekly spending by families in a particular country for eight different things. At a glance, fuel and power was the least expenditure by families.

In 1968, spending on food was the highest proportion by families, at 35%. Housing and clothing and footwear each at roughly same spending at 10%. Similarly, household goods, personal goods and transport was the same spending by families approximately 8%. In contrast, leisure accounted for 8%.

By 2018, spending on food decreased dramatically at 17%, by contrast, leisure and housing increased substantially at 22% and 18% respectively. Furthermore, transport was steadily increased by 14%. Clothing and footwear and personal goods seen decreased gradually under 5%. Fuel and power fell moderately at 3%. Eventually, expenditure on household goods remained stable at 8%.

Overall, it is evident that spending on food was decreased significantly whereas leisure increased dramatically.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data and makes relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. However, the report is under the 150-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the task achievement score. While the key trends are identified, the analysis lacks depth in some areas, and the failure to meet the length requirement prevents a higher band. To improve, ensure all data points are fully described and the minimum word count is met to allow for a more comprehensive overview of the trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for each year, and a summary. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Furthermore', and 'Overall' are used to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. The structure is generally clear, but the progression of ideas could be smoother to achieve a higher band. Ensure that each paragraph has a clear focus and that sentences are linked more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, with some attempts at topic-specific language like 'expenditure', 'proportion', and 'dramatically'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'fuel and power was the least expenditure' (should be 'accounted for the lowest expenditure') and 'seen decreased' (should be 'saw a decrease'). The range is somewhat limited, and the repetition of basic verbs like 'was' and 'increased' restricts the score. Expanding your range of synonyms for trends would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms and prepositions, such as 'roughly same spending at 10%' (missing 'the') and 'transport was steadily increased' (passive voice error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of errors in sentence construction and tense usage is noticeable. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of passive voice when describing statistical data.

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

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