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 given bar graph compares how families in one country spent their weekly income on different in 1968 and 2018.
Overall,food was the highest spending in year 1968,while leisure became the biggest expense in 2018.there were also noticeable change in spending on housing and transport.
In 1968,families spent about 35%of their income on food,which was by far the highest figure.Housing and clothing each accounted foe around 10%,while transport,leisure and personal goods were all below 10%.spending on fuel and power was approximately 6%.
By 2018,the propotion spent on food had fallen to about 17%.In contrast,spending on housing increased to around 19%,making it one of the biggest rise,reaching approximately 22%.transport also increased considerably,from about 8% to 14%
families in 2018 spend a smaller poption on basic items such as food and clothing while more money were spent in year of 1968,on hosuing leisure and transport.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which negatively impacts the score. While you have identified the main trends and provided some data points, the analysis is somewhat underdeveloped. You correctly highlight the shift from food to leisure, but the summary of the data is inconsistent; for instance, you mention housing reached 22% in the body paragraph, which is not supported by the provided chart. Additionally, the final paragraph contains contradictory information regarding the trends. To improve, ensure all data points are accurately transcribed and that your summary provides a clear, accurate overview of the key changes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical. There are issues with punctuation, such as missing spaces after commas (e.g., '35%of', '1968,while'), which disrupts the flow of the text. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the final paragraph is confusing and does not effectively synthesize the information presented earlier. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring consistent paragraph structure would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic terms like 'spending' and 'increased' repeatedly. There are also several spelling and typographical errors, such as 'propotion' instead of 'proportion' and 'hosuing' instead of 'housing'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of these errors limit the score. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied synonyms for 'increase' or 'decrease' and pay closer attention to spelling and word formation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('more money were spent'), incorrect verb tense usage ('families in 2018 spend'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several instances of missing spaces after punctuation marks, which makes the text look untidy. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for minor errors would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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