Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21
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 graph illustrates about how household spend their average weekly income throughout their various expenses in two different years in 1968 and in 2018.
Overall, the notable feature is that families send largest percentage of their income in food in 1968. While, in 2018, households spend their income in extra activities.
Firstly, in the year of 1968 people send their 35% proportion of their earnings. In addition, Second greatest spendings in 1968 was housing, clothing and foot ware 10% of their percentage of weekly income. However, rest of the ones are fuel and power, Household as well as personal goods and traveling also leisure are under 10%.
Consequently, in after four decades nearly half of their earnings spend on food. In addition, the largest amount spend on leisure more than 20%. whereas, the housing and transportation was second and third major spendings just below 20% and just under 15%. Therefore, rest of the expenses are least spendings. As a result were a household good have the same spendings as compared with previous year in 1968 and in 2018.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarize the data but contains significant factual inaccuracies. For example, you state that in 2018, 'nearly half of their earnings spend on food,' whereas the chart shows food spending actually decreased significantly from 1968. Additionally, the claim that leisure spending was 'more than 20%' in 2018 is incorrect based on the provided data. While you identify some main features, the misinterpretation of the figures prevents a higher score. To improve, ensure you carefully cross-reference your written statements with the visual data provided to avoid reporting false information.
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 often mechanical or inaccurate. For instance, the use of 'Consequently' and 'Therefore' does not logically connect the ideas presented. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the final sentence where the comparison between 1968 and 2018 is confusingly phrased. To improve, focus on using transition words that accurately reflect the relationship between ideas, such as 'In contrast' for differences or 'Furthermore' for additional points.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary range is limited and repetitive. You frequently use the word 'spendings' (which is non-standard; 'spending' or 'expenditure' is preferred) and 'earnings'. There are also errors in word choice, such as 'foot ware' (footwear) and 'traveling also leisure'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey basic meaning, but it lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You should aim to use a wider range of synonyms for 'spending' and 'increase/decrease' to describe the trends more effectively.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('families send largest percentage', 'households spend their income in extra activities') and incorrect preposition usage ('illustrates about', 'spend on food'). Sentence structures are mostly simple, and attempts at more complex sentences often contain errors, such as 'In addition, Second greatest spendings in 1968 was housing'. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that prepositions are used correctly with nouns.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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