Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22

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)

This chart illustrates how families spent their weekly income in a country from the year 1968 tand in 2018.

Overall,It can be seen that in previous time families spend their 40% of the weekly income on food now a days every gouse hold spends 20% of their salaries.Now families spends more weekly incomes on transport then before.

Firstly,In the year 1968 families spent 35% of their income on food items.In 2018 families utilized 18% percent.On housing in 2018 families spends 19% of their income compared to 1968 peoples only spent 10 percents.And from past to now families spent same percentage of their weekly income on household goods less then 10%.Before families spend more money on fuel and power but in 2018 world is moving forward so it decline to less then 5%.

Secondly,In the past time families spend 10 percent of their weekly saleries but in 2018 it deckine 5%.Now a days families are more leisure then before with the comparisons of now more then 20% and then with less then 10%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the chart, comparing spending in 1968 and 2018. However, there are some inaccuracies in the data cited (e.g., stating food was 40% in 1968 instead of 35%, and mentioning 18% for 2018 when the chart shows 17%). The overview is weak and lacks a clear summary of the most striking trends. While the student attempts to highlight key changes such as food decreasing and leisure/transport increasing, the lack of precision and underdeveloped overview place this response at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is divided into paragraphs, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief overview attempt. However, the logical progression is hindered by poor cohesive devices and repetitive phrasing like "in the past time families... and in 2018...". Referencing is often unclear (e.g., "with the comparisons of now more then 20% and then with less then 10%"), making it difficult to follow the comparisons smoothly. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or inaccurately, resulting in a Band 5.0 performance for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple terms like "spent," "income," and "families." There are noticeable spelling errors such as "tand," "gouse hold," "saleries," and "deckine." Less common vocabulary is attempted with significant inaccuracy and awkward collocations (e.g., "families are more leisure then before"). This limits the range and accuracy of the lexical resource, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is quite low. There are frequent errors in tense usage (switching inappropriately between past and present, such as "families spend their 40%... now a days every gouse hold spends"), missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., "peoples only spent"). These errors frequently cause strain and difficulty for the reader, characteristic of a Band 5.0 score.

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

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