Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-23

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 illustrates the data about their income how they spent in our country from their seven days earning in two years first in 1968 and second is 2018.

Overall, it is noticeable that a clan spent most of the wages on the food while, they spent very little money on the personal goods.

In 1968, 35% weekly wages were spent on food and it was witnessed the highest percentage of both years 1968 and 2018,However in 2018 this amount was almost 18%.Moreover,the family members spent almost 23% salary in 2018 on leisures and this was the second thing from the top on which they spent more money.

In contrast, personal goods were the lowest thing on which they spent almost 3% in 2018 but this number was high in 1968 almost 8%. Additionaly they spent 8% on household goods in both years in 1968 and 2018 this was the only thing on figure which was at equal level.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the chart, such as the decline in food spending and the rise in leisure expenditure. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For instance, while you mention the 35% and 18% figures for food, you fail to provide a comprehensive overview of all categories, such as transport or fuel, which are significant components of the data. The summary is functional but lacks the depth required for a higher band, as it misses key comparative trends across the two years provided in the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'second is 2018' or 'this was the second thing from the top'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. While there is a logical progression, the transitions between the data points feel disjointed rather than integrated into a cohesive narrative.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You rely on basic phrasing like 'the second thing from the top' or 'the lowest thing', which is not academic in tone. There are also some unnatural collocations, such as 'clan' to refer to families and 'seven days earning'. To improve, you should use more precise terminology related to data description, such as 'expenditure', 'proportion', or 'allocated to'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include 'illustrates the data about their income how they spent', which is syntactically confused, and 'this was the only thing on figure which was at equal level'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. While communication is generally maintained, these errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text.

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

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