Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-30

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 chart indicates eight different sections and represents how people contribute thier spendings overall. Food is the important essential in chart because it had increased very much in today's time as compared to 1968. Although , housing can also be seen a noticeable change. Leisure also have grown in modern world as comapred to 1968. Moreover , Transport also have a change but little bit. It also shows that people interest in spending on fuel and power , clothing and footware and personal goods have also increased over the years because charts clearly shows the growth in these sections properly.

Mainly the sections that remain unchanged or didnt get affected in this time frame from [redacted phone] is household , it shows that people interest in household goods are declining ultimately.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. Furthermore, the analysis is superficial and lacks the necessary data-driven approach required for an Academic Task 1. You have not included specific figures or percentages from the chart to support your claims. Instead of describing the trends with precision, you use vague language like 'increased very much' or 'little bit'. To improve, you must select key features, compare the two years using actual data points, and ensure you provide a comprehensive overview of all categories presented in the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks a clear structure. There is no introduction that paraphrases the prompt, and the body paragraphs are not logically organized. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes misused, such as the awkward transition 'Although , housing can also be seen a noticeable change.' The paragraphing is insufficient, as the text is essentially a single block of ideas. To improve, you should organize your response into a clear introduction, an overview of the main trends, and two body paragraphs that group related data points together, using a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. You rely on basic terms like 'change', 'increased', and 'sections'. There are also several spelling errors, such as 'thier', 'comapred', and 'footware'. The phrasing is often unnatural, such as 'people interest in spending', which should be 'people's interest in spending'. To reach a higher band, you need to use a wider range of vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', 'accounted for', or 'a significant proportion of'. Focus on using precise nouns and verbs to describe the trends shown in the chart.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. There are issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'Leisure also have grown' and 'Transport also have a change'. Punctuation is also problematic, with unnecessary spaces before commas and missing articles throughout the text. The sentence structures are mostly simple, and there is a lack of complex sentence forms. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and incorporating more complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses or subordinating conjunctions to combine ideas more effectively.

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