Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The bar chart illustrates the infromation about the proportion of their income which the families spent for a week in 1968 and 2018.
Overall, it is clear from the chart, although the most popular spending was food at the beginning of their money by the year 2000.
Looking at the chart in more details, in 1968 people spent 35% of their salaries on food products. However, it decreased dramatically about 17%. However, when it comes to housing, the proportion of money which was spent on accommodation and etc. was increased from 10% to just under 20%. However, the payment for household equipment remained stable.
When it comes to personal goods, people spent less money in 2018 compared to 1968. Moreover, the percentage of money for transport increased form 8% to 14%. However, lesiure remained dominant at the end of the period with about 23% of spending.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarise the main features of the chart, noting trends such as food expenditure decreasing and housing spending rising. However, the report suffers from a significant drawback: it is 4 words under the 150-word minimum length requirement, which incurs a penalty. Furthermore, the overview is confusing and inaccurate regarding the timeframe (mentioning 'by the year 2000' and 'beginning of their money'), failing to clearly capture the overall trends of the period. While some key data points are mentioned, comparisons are underdeveloped, and there are inaccuracies in reporting specific figures. To improve, ensure you carefully outline a clear, accurate overview and fully meet the minimum word count.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a basic structure with an introduction and separate body paragraphs. However, the progression of ideas is frequently disrupted by poor cohesion. The cohesive device 'However' is overused and often misused in consecutive sentences (e.g., 'However, it decreased dramatically... However, when it comes to housing... However, the payment...'). Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the vague phrase 'beginning of their money by the year 2000'. Paragraphing is attempted, but overall logical flow and paragraph unity need significant refinement to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'infromation' instead of 'information' and 'lesiure' instead of 'leisure'. Phrases like 'spending was food at the beginning of their money' are unnatural and impede clear communication. While the student attempts some less common terms like 'proportion' and 'dominant', the lack of precision and lexical control restricts the score to this level. Expanding your range of vocabulary related to data trends and checking spelling carefully will help boost this score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'although the most popular spending was food...' and 'the proportion of money which was spent on accommodation and etc. was increased'. However, grammatical control is weak, with frequent errors including awkward passive constructions ('was increased'), missing prepositions, and informal abbreviations like 'etc.'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but structural inaccuracies cause difficulty for the reader at times. A wider variety of error-free complex structures is needed for higher bands.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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