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 bar chart elucidates the information regarding income is spent per week by families in one nation in 1968 and in 2018. With this, it can be observed that average expenses per family are namely food, housing, fuel and power, clothing and footwear, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure. Moreover, the proportion of weekly income is between 0 and 40.
Overall, it can be noticed that food was the most spending in 1968 while fuel and power was less. On the contrary, in 2018 leisure was highest expense whereas, personal goods were lowest.
To begin with, in 1968, leisure, transport, personal goods and clothing and footwear which almost had the same average spending by different families who pay out equal or less than 10% of weekly income. Furthermore, food that was the most expenses spend on by 35% of the weekly income.
Additionally, in 2018 individual families spend more income on leisure and housing where ones paid less than 25%. Moreover, fuel and power as well as personal goods were the least spend on by households whose expenses were less than 5%
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of the chart, but the analysis is often inaccurate or confusing. For example, you state that food was 35% in 1968, which is a reasonable interpretation, but your description of 2018 data is problematic. You claim leisure was the highest expense in 2018, but the chart shows housing as the highest. Furthermore, the statement that 'personal goods were lowest' in 2018 is incorrect, as fuel and power were lower. The report lacks a clear, accurate summary of the trends, and some data points are misinterpreted, which prevents a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is hindered by inaccurate data reporting and awkward phrasing. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'To begin with', and 'On the contrary', they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately. For instance, the transition 'With this, it can be observed' is vague and does not effectively link the introduction to the body paragraphs. The referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult to follow the comparison between the two years.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive. You frequently use basic terms like 'spending', 'expenses', and 'income'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'most spending' instead of 'highest expenditure' and 'least spend on' instead of 'lowest expenditure'. Some phrases are grammatically awkward, such as 'which almost had the same average spending'. To improve, you should focus on using more precise nouns and verbs related to data reporting, such as 'accounted for', 'expenditure', 'proportion', and 'fluctuated'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'food that was the most expenses spend on by 35%' and 'ones paid less than 25%'. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and preposition usage, such as 'fuel and power as well as personal goods were the least spend on'. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction limits the score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.