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 pivot chart depicts the weekly income spendings of different families in one country from 1968 and 2018. This tables shows a remarkable and noticable difference of choices over the past years of different families living in one country.

The overall data explains the spending on food in 1968 is the highest as compared to 2018 which highlights the mindset of people in 1968.

Then the data is followed by the spendings on housing in 1968 and 2018 which says a huge difference of choices, people in 1968 mostly likely to spend on food rather than other important assets . That's why when we look up to their fuel and power consumption, clothing and foot ware, personal goods and leisure we found a major and highlighted difference from 1968 to 2018. The fuel and power consumption were higher than in 2018 same goes with the clothing, footware, and personal goods. While in 2018 the spendings shifts more towards important aspects like building or buying houses, transport and leisure. The spendings drastically changed from high to low on food items, clothing, footware, and personal goods. People respectively more focused towards High impacts of livings which leads them to leisure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to cover the main features of the chart comparing weekly family spending in 1968 and 2018. However, there are significant issues with data accuracy and the selection of information. For example, the writer states that fuel and power consumption as well as clothing and footwear were higher in 2018 than in 1968, which directly contradicts the visual data showing drops from 6% to 4% and 10% to 5% respectively. Furthermore, there is a lack of specific data points (percentages) included in the body to substantiate claims, and the overview is vague and intertwined with subjective commentary ('which highlights the mindset of people'). This falls under Band 5 as it addresses the task only partially with limited and sometimes inaccurate data reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into a short introduction and a single, dense block of text that serves as the body paragraph, lacking proper paragraphing for clear visual structure. While cohesive devices are attempted (e.g., 'Then', 'That's why', 'While'), they are often used awkwardly or mechanically, resulting in run-on sentences and a lack of clear overall progression. Referencing is occasionally confusing, such as the transition into fuel and power consumption. Overall, the organization displays some structural awareness but lacks logical flow and appropriate paragraph breaks, fitting Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is repetitive and basic, relying on phrases like 'spendings' (incorrect pluralisation of spending), 'things', and 'choices'. There are several word-form and collocation errors, such as 'spendings' instead of 'expenditure' or 'spending', 'foot ware' instead of 'footwear', and 'mostly likely to spend' instead of 'most likely to spend'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary like 'consumption' and 'infrastructure-related terms', but the inaccuracies and limited lexical range restrict the score to a Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response exhibits a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on long, convoluted compound sentences connected by commas and conjunctions. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The fuel and power consumption were higher', 'This tables shows'), missing prepositions, and awkward phrasing ('People respectively more focused towards High impacts of livings'). These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and obscure the intended meaning. The control of grammar is weak, aligning closely with Band 5 criteria.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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