Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19
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 chart depicts about families in one country utilised their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
Overall, The individuals spent their maximum weekly income on food and least amount on fuel and power in 1968. Similarly, in 2018 people spent most of their income on leisure and least on fuel and powe.
First of all, the public in 1968 used to spend 35% of their weekly amount on food and 10% on housing and clothing. Likewise, they spent almost same percentage on personal goods, transportation and little higher on leisure taht is approximately 7% and 8% respectively. They payout least on fuel and power that is estimated about 6%.
On the other hand, in 2018 people utilised maximum amount of their weekly income on leisure that is around about 23%, furthermore they spent almost 17% on food and 19% on housing. Public in 2018, pay out 14% on transportation and 5% on clothing and footware. The least amount of approximately 4% in fuel and power, and personal good was utilised from weekly income.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers most of the key features of the chart, comparing the years 1968 and 2018 across various categories such as food, leisure, and housing. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, although it contains some inaccuracies regarding the lowest and highest spending (e.g., stating the least amount was spent on fuel and power in 1968 when other categories were lower, or misidentifying leisure as the top category in 2018). Some data points are also slightly misread or generalised loosely, such as 'leisure that is around about 23%' (chart shows 22%). Despite minor lapses in data precision, the main trends are adequately reported, satisfying the core requirements of Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for each year. However, the progression within sentences and paragraphs is occasionally hindered by awkward transitional phrases like 'First of all' and 'On the other hand,' which do not fit the formal tone of an academic report. Cohesive devices are sometimes repetitive or mechanically applied, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as ambiguous pronoun usage. Paragraphing is attempted appropriately, but overall cohesion lacks smoothness and precision.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The lexical range is limited and repetitive, frequently relying on basic verbs and nouns such as 'spent,' 'amount,' and 'income.' There are noticeable word choice and spelling errors, such as 'depicts about' instead of 'depicts how,' 'footware' (footwear), 'taht' (that), and 'payout' (paid out). While the vocabulary used is minimally adequate to convey the basic statistics from the chart, the presence of frequent lexical errors and a lack of less common or more sophisticated vocabulary restrict the score to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including preposition errors ('spent... on fuel and powe'), tense inconsistencies, and awkward relative clauses ('leisure taht is approximately 7% and 8% respectively'). Punctuation and article usage also show frequent lapses. These errors occasionally cause strain for the reader, aligning the grammar profile with Band 5.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.