Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14

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)

This chart show the information about how families in a country spend their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018 . Weekly income given in % .

In 1968, the family spend his income on food is 35% per week but in 2018, family spend less income on food is above than 15% and less than 20% . The family spend his income on housing in 1968 is 10% per week , in 2018 family spend his income is 19% per week . In 1968 the family spend income on fuel and power is 6% but in 2018 he spend his incxome is 4% on it . Clothing and footware consume income is10% in 1968 but in 2018 it consume 5% . Household and goods consume equal income of family is 8% in 1968 and 2018 . Personal goods consume 8% income in 1968 and in 2018 it consume 4% . Transport gain 8% income in 1968 but in 2018 it gain 14% of the income . Leisure gain 9% in1968 but in 2018 it gain 22% of the income

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student covers several key features of the chart, reporting data for both 1968 and 2018 across multiple spending categories such as food, housing, and leisure. However, the response lacks a proper overview, which is a vital requirement for Academic Task 1. Furthermore, there is a lack of meaningful comparison between the two years; the student merely lists data points sequentially without grouping or contrasting them effectively. The description of food spending as 'above than 15% and less than 20%' is imprecise, though most other figures are correctly extracted. Because the report addresses the visual data but misses overarching trends and sophisticated comparisons, it aligns best with Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response has severe issues regarding paragraphing and logical progression. The entire body of data is crammed into a single massive, unmanaged paragraph following an initial two-sentence introduction. This creates a monotonous and difficult reading experience. Cohesive devices are largely absent; sentences are linked clumsily using repetitive constructions like 'in 1968... but in 2018...'. There is no clear overall progression guiding the reader through the data points systematically. Referencing is also weak, with awkward pronouns such as 'he spend his incxome' used to describe inanimate spending categories. These organizational flaws place the response firmly at Band 4.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. Words such as 'spend', 'income', 'consume', and 'gain' are recycled constantly throughout the text without variation. There are also noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'Transport gain 8% income' and 'Leisure gain 9%'. Spelling errors appear, including 'footware' instead of footwear and the typo 'incxome'. While the range is sufficient to communicate basic numerical data, the lack of flexibility and frequent word-choice inaccuracies mean the response cannot achieve higher than Band 4.5, rounding down to Band 4.0 based on the descriptor match.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical structures attempted are overwhelmingly simple or poorly formed complex sentences. There are persistent, fundamental errors in subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as 'This chart show', 'the family spend his income', and 'he spend his incxome is 4% on it'. Pronoun usage is entirely inappropriate, referring to categories or families as 'he' and 'his'. Punctuation is also careless, with spaces frequently placed before commas and periods. Due to the high frequency of grammatical errors and the very limited range of structures successfully controlled, the response warrants a Band 4.0.

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