Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-11
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 bar chart compares the average weekly spending by families in one country in 1968 and 2018.
In 1968, families spent the highest on food and the lowest on fuel and power, while in 2018 they spent significantly on leisure and spent the least on personal goods. In addition, families spent the same amount of money on household goods in the both years.
Focusing on 1968, families spent there weekly income on food mostly, which accounted for 35%, while fuel and power took the least percentageof their weekly income with about 7%. Clothing and footwear and housing had the same percentage of 10%.
In 2018, the pre
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely limits your ability to fully address the task. While you have identified some main features, such as the shift in food spending and the stability of household goods, the response is incomplete and cuts off abruptly in the second paragraph. To achieve a higher band, you must provide a complete overview, include all relevant data points, and ensure the response meets the length requirement. Currently, the lack of completion prevents a full comparison of the data, resulting in a low score for task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response shows some attempt at logical organization by grouping information by year. However, the abrupt ending makes it impossible to assess the overall progression of the text. The use of cohesive devices like 'In addition' and 'while' is appropriate, but the paragraphing is inconsistent and the text lacks a clear conclusion or summary. To improve, ensure that your ideas are fully developed within each paragraph and that the text flows logically from the introduction to a final summary.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with terms like 'accounted for' and 'percentage' used correctly. However, the range is limited and there are minor errors, such as 'spent there weekly income' (should be 'their') and 'percentageof' (missing space). To reach a higher band, you should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'fluctuated,' 'remained stable,' or 'experienced a significant decline,' rather than repeating 'spent' multiple times.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are noticeable grammatical errors, such as the misuse of 'there' instead of 'their' and the incomplete sentence at the end of the text. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the overall control is inconsistent. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic errors and try to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses or passive voice, to describe the data more precisely.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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