Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-12

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 provided chart illustrates an analytical report of how families in one nation spent their weekly income in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is evident that food demontrated the highest ratio in 1968 while, in 2018 leisure indicated the highest percentage. Whereas, house hold goods contained same proportion in both years.

Looking at the details for 1968 food explained the highest ratio about 35%, while housing was slighltly lower about 10%. This was followed by fuel power which accounted for more than 5%, while in a term of clothing and footwear represented 10%. In contrast, the figure of household goods and personal goods remained leveled off at touching to 10%. In 1968, people spent their weekly income on transport just more than 5% and in a context of leisure individuals spent their weekly income touching to 10%.

Turning to 2018, leisure represented the highest proportion of more than 20%, while housing accounted for more than 15%. Furthermore, food contained ratio of higher than 15%, whereas, transport sustained more than 10%, however, the proportion of household goods was more than 5%. Interestingly, ratio of clothing and footwear was 5%. Similarly, percentage of fuel and power and personal goods remained similar about less than 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of weekly family spending in 1968 and 2018, and makes relevant comparisons between the two years. Key data points, such as food taking up the highest proportion in 1968 (approximately 35%) and leisure dominating in 2018 (over 20%), are accurately identified and reported. The overall trend is clearly stated in the introduction and overview paragraph. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in specific percentages, such as describing housing in 1968 as 'about 10%' when visual comparison suggests it was closer to 25%, and stating that household goods and personal goods remained 'leveled off at touching to 10%' which misinterprets the chart. Despite these minor data interpretation flaws, the main features are sufficiently addressed, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into four distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for 1968 and 2018. The overall arrangement is coherent, and the writer uses logical transition signals such as 'Looking at the details for 1968' and 'Turning to 2018' to guide the reader through the data. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty and mechanical. Phrases like 'while in a term of clothing and footwear represented 10%' and repetitive sentence structures ('accounting for', 'contained ratio of') detract from the flow. Referencing and logical progression are sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and punctuation issues, placing this performance firmly in Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting to use topic-specific terminology such as 'proportion', 'percentage', 'ratio', and various spending categories (e.g., 'leisure', 'housing', 'clothing and footwear'). However, there is a noticeable lack of precision and frequent misuse of lexical items and collocations. Examples include 'demontrated the highest ratio', 'house hold goods contained same proportion', 'fuel power', and 'leveled off at touching to 10%'. Spelling and word-choice inaccuracies, such as 'slighltly', are present. While communication is not severely impeded, these recurring lexical limitations and awkward word choices cap the vocabulary score at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinate clauses introduced by 'whereas', 'while', and 'although'. However, grammatical control is weak throughout the response. There are frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and article usage, such as 'food demontrated', 'in a term of clothing', 'figure of household goods and personal goods remained leveled off at touching to 10%', and 'in a context of leisure individuals spent'. Awkward phrasing like 'the figure of household goods and personal goods remained leveled off at touching to 10%' creates grammatical confusion. Because complex structures are frequently faulty and errors cause some difficulty for the reader, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

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