Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-02

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 bar chart represents the data on how families in 2018 spend their incomes weekly from year 1968.

In 1968, most of the expenditure of weekly salary was done on the food items. But the most of weekly income in 2018 were shifted on housing and leisure.

In 1968, the 35% spendings on food was cut short by almost half in the year of 2018. but housing and liesure which accounted for no more than 10% before became one of the highest spendings in the latter year. Where transport expenses also gain visible increase of around 15% compared to its previous spendings. The other expenses on fuel , clothing and personal goods declined only subtly and still remained below 10% compared to its previous amount. House hold goods mostly stayed on the same level of around 10 % on the weekly expenditure of families income.

But compared to previous spendings of weekly income, every expense stayed within 25% of it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response provides a general overview of the data, but it lacks a clear, structured approach to reporting the main features. While you identified the shift from food to housing and leisure, the analysis is somewhat fragmented. You mention specific percentages, but the comparison between 1968 and 2018 is occasionally imprecise (e.g., 'cut short by almost half' is vague). To improve, ensure you group data logically—perhaps by categories that increased versus those that decreased—and provide a more distinct 'overview' paragraph that highlights the most significant trends at the beginning of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow between sentences is sometimes disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is limited and occasionally mechanical (e.g., 'But' is used repeatedly at the start of sentences). The transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is abrupt. To achieve a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and phrases to show relationships between ideas, such as 'In contrast,' 'Furthermore,' or 'Conversely,' and ensure that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus rather than jumping between different categories of expenditure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher levels. You rely on basic terms like 'spendings' and 'amount,' which are used repetitively. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'gain visible increase' (should be 'showed a visible increase') and 'cut short' (which is not typically used for statistical data). To improve, incorporate more academic vocabulary related to trends and data, such as 'expenditure,' 'proportion,' 'fluctuated,' or 'remained stable.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'the 35% spendings on food was cut short' contains a subject-verb agreement error, and 'the year of 2018' is slightly unnatural. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensure that your sentence structures are grammatically sound. Practicing the use of complex sentences with accurate relative clauses or participial phrases would also help raise your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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