Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-21
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 chart below gives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
Overall, spending patterns changed considerably during 1968 to 2018. Average of weekly spending by families on food is decreased and weekly spending by families on other things like housing, fuel and power, clothing, transport and leisure.
The average of weekly spending by families on food is 35% in 1968. Then it decreased from 35% to 16% in 2018. The weekly spending by families
on housing is 10% in 1968. Then it increased 10% to 18% in 2018. The average of weekly spending
by families on fuel and power is 7% in 1968. After that it decreased 7% to 4% in 2018. The average of
weekly spending by families on household goods is remains same during 1968 to 2018. The average of weekly spending by families on transport is 8% in 1968, then it increased 8% to 18% in 2018. The weekly spending on leisure is 8% in 1968 ,then it increased 8% to 23% in 2018.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the task by reporting several data points from the chart, such as food decreasing from 35% to 16% and housing increasing to 18%. However, there are notable flaws in task execution. Firstly, the introduction includes copied text from the prompt, and the overview sentence is incomplete and ungrammatical ("Average of weekly spending by families on food is decreased and weekly spending by families on other things..."). Furthermore, several data points are inaccurately reported (e.g., fuel and power is reported as 7% in 1968 instead of 6%, and household goods are claimed to remain the same when they actually stayed at 8%, but transport and leisure figures differ slightly from the visual data). While the main trends are touched upon, the lack of a proper overview and inaccurate data extraction restrict the score to Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is divided into an introduction/overview paragraph and a body paragraph. However, the logical progression is weak due to repetitive sentence structures and a mechanical listing of data points. Every single sentence in the second paragraph begins with a variation of "The average of weekly spending by families on...", which creates a monotonous and tedious reading experience. Cohesive devices are minimal and repetitive, relying almost exclusively on "Then" or "After that" to connect ideas. Paragraphing is technically present, but the overall organization lacks sophisticated progression. This aligns closely with Band 5 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. The phrase "weekly spending by families on" is repeated verbatim multiple times throughout the text. There is a lack of less common lexical items, and word choice is frequently awkward or inaccurate (e.g., "Average of weekly spending... is decreased" instead of "decreased"). Spelling is generally accurate for the simple words attempted, but the restricted range and lack of flexibility mean communication relies entirely on elementary terms. This fits the Band 5 criteria for lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student relies heavily on simple sentence structures and repetitive subject-verb-complement patterns. Attempts at more complex structures or passive forms are absent or faulty, such as in the opening overview: "Average of weekly spending by families on food is decreased and weekly spending by families on other things like housing..." There are frequent grammatical errors involving verb tenses and auxiliary verbs, such as "is decreased", "is 35% in 1968. Then it decreased", and "household goods is remains same". While simple sentences are sometimes understandable, the frequent errors and lack of structural variety place this response firmly at Band 5.0.
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.