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 shows the information about how families in one countries consume their weekly money in 1968 and in 2018 .

To begin with , the chart shows information weekly spent money on food

the highest average 35% in 1968 as compared 2018 . Then , in 2018 average increased 18% weekly consume income on the housing . However , in 1968 and in 2018 same spent money on the household goods .

On the otherhand , on the personal goods the average weekly speni

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the task achievement. Because the essay is incomplete and cuts off mid-sentence, it does not provide a full overview or a detailed comparison of the data. While there is an attempt to identify some trends, such as the spending on food and housing, the lack of development and the failure to cover the entire data set mean the task is only partially addressed. To improve, you must ensure you provide a clear overview, select key features, and support them with data, while ensuring the response is of sufficient length.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response shows some attempt at logical organization through the use of linking phrases like 'To begin with' and 'However'. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by the incomplete nature of the text. Paragraphing is present but ineffective due to the brevity of the content. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the lack of a concluding summary or a fully developed body paragraph makes the overall structure feel disjointed. To improve, focus on creating a clear structure with an introduction, an overview, and distinct body paragraphs that fully develop each point.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive, relying on basic terms like 'money' and 'spent'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'consume their weekly money' and 'weekly spent money'. Some words are misspelled or incomplete, such as 'speni'. The range of vocabulary is insufficient to demonstrate the flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, try to use more precise academic vocabulary related to data description, such as 'expenditure', 'allocate', 'proportion', and 'fluctuate', and ensure you use them in the correct grammatical context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that impede clarity. Examples include 'in one countries' (plural/singular mismatch), 'average increased 18% weekly consume income' (awkward syntax), and missing articles throughout. The sentence structures are mostly simple and often lack correct punctuation. There is no evidence of complex sentence structures, which are necessary for higher band scores. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and building more complex sentences using subordinating conjunctions like 'while', 'whereas', or 'although' to compare the data points effectively.

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

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