Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-16
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 compares the average proportion of weekly income spent by household in 1968 and in 2018.
Overall, the entire expenditure consists of eight major categories leisure, transport, personal good, household goods, clothing & footware, fuel & power, housing and food. Considering 1968, food made the highest ratio accounted for 35%. In contrast, the percentage of leisure increased significantly by 23% in 2018. Household good remained stable in both years.
In 1968, families spend their largest share of income in food, housing and wardrobe followed by 10%, whereas, individual spending & transport have made major contribution by 8%. While, In 2018, the ratio of housing steadily increased approximately by 18%, transportation followed by 14% but the consumption household good remained unchanged.
Considering, accumulated data shows that significant conversion occurred during these years, but minor difference have observed for power and fuel in both years. The diversion have seen from food to lesure.
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 cover the main features of the chart, noting that food was highest in 1968 and leisure increased significantly by 2018. However, there are significant inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the student states that the percentage of leisure increased by 23% in 2018 (it actually rose from 9% to 22%, an increase of 13 percentage points, or to 22% total). Furthermore, the overview is weak, merely listing the categories rather than highlighting the primary overall trends, such as the shift from necessities like food to discretionary spending like leisure. Several comparisons are either miscalculated or unclearly expressed, limiting the development of ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into paragraphs, attempting an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding remark. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence structures, such as "While, In 2018, the ratio of housing steadily increased approximately by 18%..." Cohesive devices are often mismanaged or mechanically applied, and referencing is occasionally unclear, making it hard to follow the relationships between data points. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow of ideas lacks the clear logical progression required for higher bands.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate to convey basic concepts related to the chart, such as "proportion," "expenditure," and "categories." However, there are frequent lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as "personal good," "clothing & footware," "wardrobe" (used for clothing expenditure), and "consumption household good." Spelling errors like "lesure" also detract from the quality. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive, with noticeable errors that occasionally impede smooth reading.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ("families spend their largest share", "minor difference have observed") and prepositional errors ("spent... in food"). Many complex structures are faulty or awkwardly phrased, leading to frequent errors that require the reader to slow down to understand the intended meaning.
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