Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-24

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 chart illustrates the data regarding the proportion of weekly income that was spent by families of a specific nation during 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is apparent that the maximum percentile of weekly wages was devoted on food by families of a particular country during initial year. However, the least ratio weekly pay was spent on fuel, power and personal goods during second given year.

To begin with, it can be seen that in 1968 , 35% of payroll of seven days was spent on food, whereas in 2018, 17% of weekly income was paid for eatables by families. Nearly double ratio of payment was spent on housing in 2018 than in 1968 by households of a country. In 1968, the percentage of seven days salary of families was given more on fuel ,power , costumes and footwears than in 2018, that was 10%.

Moving to the further information, a similar percentage of weekly payment was devoted on household equipments in both the years by families of a nation. The 8% and 4% of income was utilised for buying personal goods in 1968 and 2018, respectively. The wages spent on transportation by families was less in 1968 than in 2018. In both the years, the weekly rumeration devoted on free times was neither more than 22% and nor less than 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main features of the chart and made relevant comparisons between the two years. However, the response lacks precision in reporting data. For instance, you mention that 'nearly double' was spent on housing, but you do not provide the specific figures (10% vs 18%) to support this. Furthermore, some descriptions are vague, such as 'neither more than 22% and nor less than 8%', which does not accurately reflect the specific data points for leisure. To improve, ensure you include specific percentages for all categories mentioned to provide a clear and accurate summary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear overall progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with' and 'Moving to the further information' to link ideas. However, the use of some cohesive devices is slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'that was 10%', where the antecedent is ambiguous. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to specific nouns will enhance the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'proportion', 'remuneration', and 'utilised'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choices and non-standard collocations, such as 'payroll of seven days', 'eatables', and 'costumes and footwears'. These choices occasionally sound unnatural. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and standard collocations, such as 'weekly expenditure' instead of 'payroll of seven days' and 'clothing' instead of 'costumes and footwears'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the maximum percentile', 'the least ratio') and preposition usage. Additionally, there are some awkward phrasings, such as 'the weekly rumeration devoted on free times was neither more than 22% and nor less than 8%'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of sentence construction and article usage.

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

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