Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-28

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 given bar chart illustrates the data about the way of weekly income spent in many sectors of famalies, including food, housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure in 1968 and 2018. The figures are measured in percentage.

Overall, most of the famalies spent for food in 1968, whereas in 2018 famalies spent on leisure from their weekly income.

At the first glance, it can be seen that in 1968, for food iteam famalies spent 35% of weekly income which is the highest percentage in the graph. Moreover the second highet amount was spending for housing and clothing and foorware, it was 10% of their weekly income. After that, in fuel and power, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure famalies were spent below 10% from weekly income.

At the second glance, in 2018, spending on leisure have gone over 20% of weekly income. However, in food and housing famalies spent over 15% of their weekly income. Moreover, in other sectors, they spent below 15% of weekly income but the lowest spending was below 5% in fuel and power also in personal goods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the chart, identifying the shift from food to leisure as the primary spending categories. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you mention the highest and lowest points, the reporting of data is inconsistent and lacks precision. For instance, stating that spending on housing and clothing was 10% in 1968 is inaccurate based on the provided data, and grouping categories together without clear distinction makes the comparison difficult to follow. To improve, ensure you accurately extract specific figures and provide a more detailed comparison between the two years rather than just listing them separately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'Moreover' and 'At the first/second glance'. The transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the progression of ideas flows more naturally between sentences, rather than relying on a rigid, formulaic structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. There are several spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'famalies' (families), 'iteam' (item), 'highet' (highest), and 'footware' (footwear). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, you should focus on using more precise terminology related to data reporting, such as 'expenditure', 'proportion', 'allocated', or 'fluctuated', and pay closer attention to spelling accuracy to ensure your writing appears professional and polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'the way of weekly income spent' (the way weekly income was spent), 'famalies were spent' (families spent), and 'spending on leisure have gone' (has gone). These errors occasionally impede the flow of the text. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of control over verb tenses and passive voice constructions limits the score. Increasing your accuracy with subject-verb agreement and prepositional phrases will significantly improve your writing.

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

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