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 foot wear, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure-of families spent in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, food shared the largest portion of the total income spent in 1968, while leisure accounted for the highest invested by families in 2018. Although, fuel and power, and personal goods levelled off in 2018, the remaining allocated sources consumed amounting to a 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 was almost constant with slight variation 6% in 1968 and 4% in 2018. The clothing and foot wear were spent 10% in 1968 and half of this in 2018 (5%). Additionally, the average spending on 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 remained constant in both years at 8% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to cover all categories, selecting key features and making comparisons between 1968 and 2018. An overview is provided, noting that food was the largest in 1968 and leisure in 2018. However, there are notable inaccuracies in data reporting and misreadings of the chart. For instance, the student states that leisure and housing income were 8% and 10% in 1968, and 22% and 19% in 2018 respectively, but then incorrectly mixes up the details elsewhere. Furthermore, food spending in 1968 was 35% but dropped to 17% in 2018, whereas the student mentions 18%. While the main trends are acknowledged, the confusion in data interpretation pulls the score down to Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is divided into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific categories. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Although', and 'Additionally'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or confusing, such as the awkward opening sentence listing categories directly into the earnings definition ('weekly earnings-food, housing...'). Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion lacks smooth progression due to clunky phrasing and confusing sentence structures. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors for cohesion and logical arrangement.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'allocated sources', 'expended', and 'fluctuation'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'highest invested by families' (leisure is spending, not investment), 'families spent in 1968 and in 2018' (awkward phrasing for weekly spending), and 'foot wear' instead of footwear. Vocabulary is also repetitive in places when describing percentages. These inaccuracies do not entirely impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using clauses like 'Although, fuel and power... the remaining allocated sources consumed amounting to a substantial portion'. However, this attempt at a complex structure is faulty and ungrammatical. Other errors include dangling modifiers, punctuation issues, and awkward phrasing such as 'the average spending on personal goods and transport were stable at 8% in 1968, and in 2018 with significant fluctuation about 4% and 14% expended.' Errors in grammar and punctuation are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 criteria.

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.