Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-25

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 table illustrates information on average weekly spending by families in year 1968 and 2018 in single country.

Overall, the food has the highest expenditure over the years period, whereas fuel and power was the least expenses.Household goods has static expense in both years. Notable changes during the particular years.

To begin with, food has the highest expenses for about 35% of weekly income during 1968 and dropped for about less than 20%, followed by clothing and footware with 10% and decrease 5%. The personal good with slight difference in the amount spend by he families weekly.

The leisure housing and transport has the same increasing trend. He both housing and leisure has a slightly difference of the amount spend weekly by the families for estimated 20% in 2018 and less than 10% in 1968.

Personal goods nearly reach the lowest expenses in both year deceases for about 8% and below. Whereas household good remain stable estimated 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the data, but it fails to provide a clear or accurate overview. Several claims are factually incorrect based on the provided chart; for example, stating that 'food has the highest expenditure' in 2018 is incorrect, as housing became the highest category. Furthermore, the description of trends is confusing and lacks precision. The report lacks a clear selection of key features, and the data points mentioned (e.g., 'less than 20%' for food in 2018) are imprecise. To improve, you must ensure that your data reporting is accurate and that you clearly distinguish between the two years provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The use of cohesive devices is limited and often mechanical or misused, such as 'To begin with' which does not fit the context of a data summary. There are issues with referencing; for instance, 'He both housing and leisure' is unclear and grammatically incorrect. The transition between ideas is often abrupt, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison between 1968 and 2018. More varied and accurate linking words are needed to connect your points effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive. You rely on basic terms like 'highest', 'lowest', and 'amount'. There are also several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'the years period', 'least expenses', and 'footware' (spelling error). The phrase 'static expense' is used to describe household goods, but the data shows a slight increase, making the description inaccurate. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise vocabulary related to trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained constant', or 'accounted for'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('food has', 'household goods has'), article usage ('in single country'), and sentence structure ('Notable changes during the particular years' is a fragment). Complex sentence structures are attempted but are often faulty, such as 'The personal good with slight difference in the amount spend by he families weekly.' You need to focus on basic sentence construction and proofreading to eliminate these frequent errors.

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