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 bar chart compares the weekly earnings-food, housing, fuel and power clothing and foot ware, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure-of families expended in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, a food shared the largest portion of the total income spent in 1968, while the leisure accounted for the highest invested by families in 2018. Although, fuel and power, and personal goods were levelled off in 2018, the remaining allocated sources consumed amounting to fairly substantial portion of the total income.

Looking at the graph in more detail, The leisure and housing income were closely matched at 8% and 10% and in 1968, 22% and 19% in 2018 respectively. The fuel and power consumption were almost constant with slight variation 6% in 1968 and 4% in 2018. The clothing and foot ware were spent 10% in 1968 and half of this in 2018 (5%). Additionally, the average spending of personal goods and transport were stable at 8% in 1968, and in 2018 with significant fluctuation about 4% and 14% expended.

The graph depicts the irregular patterns of average spending of families per week, but a notable climb was observed in income spent on food from all the other categories almost 35% in 1968 and 18% in 2018. Subsequently, household goods spending were remained constant in both years at 8% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to cover the main features of the chart, correctly noting significant changes such as the drop in food spending from 35% in 1968 to 17% in 2018, and the rise in leisure to 22%. However, there are several inaccuracies in data reporting and misreadings; for instance, the student states that housing was 8% and 10% in 1968, whereas housing was actually 10% in 1968 and 19. in 2018. Additionally, the overview is confused, containing contradictory statements about trends. While all categories are mentioned, the lack of precision in data reporting and underdeveloped overview prevent this from reaching a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the organization and progression of ideas lack clarity. The overview paragraph is overly cluttered with minor details rather than presenting a clear summary of main trends. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or incorrectly in places, such as starting a sentence with 'Although, fuel and power... were levelled off...' which lacks a proper contrasting clause. Referencing and linking between sentences can be mechanical, and some sentences are disjointed, making the overall logical flow difficult to follow at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts to use a range of vocabulary related to data analysis, such as 'expended', 'allocated sources', and 'fluctuation'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate collocations throughout the text, such as 'highest invested', 'food shared the largest portion', and 'clothing and foot ware were spent'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'foot ware' instead of 'footwear'. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but errors in word choice occasionally cause confusion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures attempted, but many sentences suffer from grammatical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing. Examples include 'the leisure and housing income were closely matched at 8% and 10% and in 1968, 22% and 19% in 2018 respectively', which has severe structural confusion and misplaced modifiers. Errors in subject-verb agreement and prepositions also appear, such as 'household goods spending were remained constant'. While the meaning is usually discernible, frequent errors restrict the grammatical score.

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.