Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-29

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 5.5)

The chart given provides data about average spending of weekly income of different families in one country from 1968 to 2018.

Overall, it is evident that, families spent higher amount of money on food and clothing and footware in 1968. While, lower amount has been spent on housing, transport and Leisure in 1968. However, other activities also showed fluctuations from 1968 to 2018.

Examining the details, in 1968 families used most of their weekly income on food which is about 35% this is the greater amount and clothing and footware which is 10% of their weekly earnings. Moreover, people spent 7% of their income on fuel and power in a week which is the lowest amount and 8% on the personal goods.

By contrast, in 2018 families spent their weekly earnings about 18% on housing and 14% on transport. Similarly, if we talk about leisure, the average amount people spent of their weekly earnings is 22% which is the highest amount. For household goods the amount of expenditures of families in one country is same from 1968 to 2018 which is 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main features and provided a clear overview. However, the response lacks a comprehensive comparison between the two years. While you mention some figures, you miss significant trends, such as the dramatic decline in food spending versus the rise in leisure. The report is somewhat fragmented; for instance, you mention 'other activities' in the overview but do not elaborate on them in the body paragraphs. To improve, ensure you group data logically—perhaps by categories that increased versus those that decreased—rather than listing them year by year, which makes it harder for the reader to follow the comparative analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices like 'Overall', 'By contrast', and 'Similarly'. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. Some transitions feel forced, and the referencing is sometimes unclear, such as when you refer to 'other activities' without specifying which ones. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal structure of the body paragraphs could be improved by using more sophisticated linking phrases to connect the 1968 and 2018 data points more fluidly rather than simply stating them in separate blocks.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'expenditures', 'fluctuations', and 'earnings'. However, there are some inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'clothing and footware' (spelling: footwear) and 'spent their weekly earnings about 18% on housing' (which is grammatically awkward). You rely on fairly basic descriptors like 'higher amount' or 'lowest amount'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to data trends, such as 'accounted for', 'witnessed a significant decline', or 'remained stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally hinder the flow. For example, 'families spent higher amount of money' (missing article 'a'), 'While, lower amount has been spent' (incorrect punctuation and tense usage), and 'if we talk about leisure' (too informal for an Academic Task 1). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and preposition usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on mastering basic article usage and consistent tense application.

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