Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 bar chart depicts data regarding spending weekly income by the families of one nation in 1968 and 2018.

Considering from an overall perspective, it can be comprehensively observed that previously people like to spend their major income on foods, whereas they spend least income on fuel and power. However, in 2018 individual spend their major part of income on housing, food and leisure activity.

To begin with, in 1968, citizens spend their 35% of weekly income on foods. Moreover, similar percentage of income which is 10% they spend on Housing , clothing and footwear. Surprisingly, Similar proportion of income approximately 7% individuals spend on household goods, personal goods and transport. Approximately 9% of their income people of one nation spend on leisure activity and their least spendings on fuel and power.

Furthermore, spending habits changed in 2018. Residents spend their highest proportion of weekly income on leisure activity which is around 22% and approximately 18% of amount spend on housing. Moreover, around 17% of weekly income are spend on foods and 7% of income use for household goods. In contrast, the least part of their income spent on fuel and power, personal goods, clothing and footwear and their proportion are approximately 4%, 3% and 5% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the chart comparing weekly spending in 1968 and 2018. An overview is attempted, noting the major shifts from food to housing and leisure. Key data points are cited, such as food starting at 35% and leisure rising to 22%. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting specific figures (e.g., stating households spent 10% on housing, clothing, and footwear in 1968, whereas housing was actually 10% but clothing was 10% and others varied slightly; also some approximations like 'approximately 7%' where the chart shows 8%). Despite these minor data discrepancies, the overall trends are clearly captured, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing each year. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In contrast' are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two time periods. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional slight awkwardness in phrasing ('Considering from an overall perspective') slightly affects the flow. Overall, the essay maintains a coherent arrangement, fitting the Band 6.0 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to data reporting such as 'proportion', 'spending habits', 'highest proportion', and 'respectively'. There are attempts at less common vocabulary, but some awkward word choices and collocation errors occur, such as 'spending weekly income by the families', 'least spendings', and 'amount spend'. Spelling is generally accurate, but grammatical forms of words are sometimes confused (e.g., 'spend' used instead of 'spent'). These errors do not impede communication, placing the response securely at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and forms (e.g., 'people like to spend', 'individual spend', 'citizens spend their 35%', 'income are spend'). Subject-verb agreement and past tense consistency for the 1968 data are problematic throughout the text. While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they occur regularly and prevent the essay from achieving a higher band score, making Band 5.0 appropriate.

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