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)

Money is the ultimate source of luxury. The more people have it the more they spend on different things to make their lives more Luxury and comfortable. Moreover, there is no doubt that money do bring happiness whenever some eats in a fancy restaurants or buys something expensive.

Talking about 1968 people, spent alot of money on food, which is huge, chart shows the strongest bar of food of a family which spent more then any other thing but food. Comparitively, 2018 family didn't spent alot, they kept like a normal range. People made houses as they spent a good percentage in that feature. Most likely, fuel power and similar things like, clothing, household goods, transport, the percentage which was spent from both of the years, are approximately same. Leisure is something of modern 2018 family spent on. A reasonable percentage.

Comparitively, old family 1968 were diet consious, they also lived long because of good diet whereas Modern ones are more into modernise things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to provide an objective summary of the data. Instead of reporting the main features and comparing the figures, the essay includes subjective commentary, such as 'Money is the ultimate source of luxury' and 'they also lived long because of good diet'. These personal opinions are irrelevant to an Academic Task 1 report. Furthermore, the description of the data is vague; for example, stating that 2018 spending was in a 'normal range' lacks the precision required to describe statistical trends. The response fails to accurately identify the significant shifts in spending, such as the dramatic decrease in food expenditure or the rise in leisure spending.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The introduction is off-topic, focusing on general philosophy rather than the chart. Cohesive devices are used in a mechanical or incorrect way, such as 'Comparitively' (used twice) and 'Moreover'. The referencing is often unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison between 1968 and 2018. The lack of a clear overview or summary of the data trends further hinders the coherence of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and often inappropriate for an academic report. The writer relies on informal or imprecise language, such as 'alot of money', 'huge', and 'similar things like'. There is a lack of precise terminology to describe data, such as 'percentage', 'proportion', 'expenditure', or 'fluctuation'. The word choice is repetitive, and the attempt to use more complex vocabulary, such as 'modernise things', is inaccurate in this context. The range is insufficient to convey the information clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('money do bring', 'family didn't spent'), tense consistency, and sentence structure. Many sentences are fragmented or poorly constructed, such as 'chart shows the strongest bar of food of a family which spent more then any other thing but food.' The punctuation is also inconsistent. While there is an attempt to use complex sentences, they are often faulty, and the control over basic grammar is not consistent enough for a higher band.

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