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 graphs illustrates the information about how families utilize their weekly income in 1968 and 2018.
Overall, the usage of food peaked in the year 1968, and expenditure of personal goods and fuel and power were the least, around 5%.
As the time passes the utilization of housing has increased to a drastic level in year 2018 of around 20% when compared to the year 1968.
The household goods shown a significant equality and is maintained the same in both 1968 and 2018.
Most of the people in the recent day spent and wasted their income to leisure(spending time uselessly) of around 24%. The transport facility had developed a lot and saw a significant growth since 1968 which is around 15%.
Clothing and footwear consumed a lot of their income in the past days(10%) when compared to the present year 2018. People in the tear 1968 spent a lot their vehicle fuels and power than in year 2018.
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 identifies some key features, such as the rise in housing expenditure and the decline in food spending. However, the analysis is inconsistent and lacks precision. For example, stating that household goods 'maintained the same' is inaccurate based on the data, and the claim that people 'wasted their income' on leisure is subjective and inappropriate for an academic report. Furthermore, the comparison between 1968 and 2018 is sometimes confusing, such as the claim that people spent more on fuel in 1968, which contradicts the provided chart. The overview is present but lacks a clear summary of the most significant trends.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical or misused, such as 'As the time passes' and 'Most of the people in the recent day'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the transition between ideas feels disjointed. While the paragraphing is attempted, the internal structure of the paragraphs does not always support a clear flow of information, making the comparison between the two years difficult to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally basic and repetitive. There are instances of inappropriate word choice, such as 'wasted their income' and 'spending time uselessly', which are not suitable for an objective report. Some terms are used inaccurately, such as 'significant equality' and 'tear' (instead of 'year'). The range of vocabulary is limited, and the student struggles to use precise terminology to describe statistical trends, relying on simple descriptors like 'a lot' or 'drastic level'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('graphs illustrates', 'goods shown'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward phrasing ('spent a lot their vehicle fuels'). While there is an attempt at complex sentence structures, they are often faulty or contain errors. Punctuation is generally functional, but the overall control of grammar is inconsistent, preventing the response from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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