Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-03

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 4.5)

The bar chart compares the information about how families in one country utilize their income in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, between 1968 and 2018, spending has eight categories. In begining food had the largest source of their spending and fuel and power had the smallest, while Housing, transport, leisure had increased spending and is decreased, fuel and power remain lowest throughout the period.

In 1968, Housing, transport, leisure,all four categerios had increased as compare to the 2018 spending

Housing, transport, leisure

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, reaching only 81 words. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. The summary of main features is incomplete, and the comparison of data is underdeveloped. The response lacks a clear overview of the trends and fails to provide sufficient detail or data points to support the observations made. Because the response is significantly under-length and lacks the necessary depth to cover the requirements of an Academic Task 1 report, it cannot achieve a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The response is poorly structured. While there is a brief attempt at an introduction and an overview, the body paragraphs are fragmented and incomplete. The use of cohesive devices is minimal and often inaccurate, such as the disjointed list at the end of the text. The progression of ideas is not logical, and the lack of sufficient content makes it difficult to follow the writer's intent. Paragraphing is not used effectively to organize the information, which hinders the overall flow of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive. There are several spelling errors, such as 'begining' and 'categerios'. The range of vocabulary is limited, and the writer struggles to use precise terminology to describe the data trends (e.g., 'is decreased' is grammatically and lexically awkward). There is no attempt to use less common or sophisticated vocabulary to describe the changes in the chart. To improve, the student should focus on learning specific collocations for describing data, such as 'significant increase' or 'remained stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that impede clarity. Examples include 'spending has eight categories' (incorrect verb usage), 'In begining food had the largest source' (preposition and article errors), and 'all four categerios had increased as compare to the 2018' (incorrect comparative structure). The sentence structures are simple and often lack proper punctuation or logical connection. There is a lack of complex sentence structures, and the errors in basic grammar occur throughout the short text, which significantly affects the readability of the report.

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