Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-23
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 illustrates the average weekly spending by families in one country between 1968 to 2018.
Overall, it is clear that in 1968 most of thr families spend their thier weekly income on food items. whereas in 2018 leisure acitivies took the lead.
To begin with, in terms of average spending by families.In 1968 the top seat was notched by food items with exactly 35%. followed by housing and household goods with 10 % and almost 8%. whereas the remaiming sections like fuel and power, clothing & footware,personal goods, transport didnot exceed 10%.
Getting into further details, In 2018 the most of the weekly incomes are spend upon leisure activities with around 22%. And second position was holded by transport wit approximately 14%. the figure for remaining hovered around 10 %.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the chart well, correctly identifying that food was the highest expenditure in 1968 (35%) and leisure took the lead in 2018 (22%). Key comparisons between the two years are made, and major categories such as housing, transport, and clothing are touched upon. However, the response is under the minimum word count of 150 words, containing only 132 words, which prevents a more fully extended and detailed discussion of the data. Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised and capped at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response features a clear overall arrangement with a distinct introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific years. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes faulty, such as starting a new sentence fragment with a capital letter mid-clause ('...average spending by families.In 1968...'). Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically ('To begin with', 'Getting into further details'), and referencing like 'the figure for remaining' is unclear. Progression is evident, but mechanical elements limit it to Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, such as 'average weekly spending', 'leisure activities', and 'expenditure' concepts. However, there are notable spelling errors ('acitivies', 'remaiming', 'didnot', 'holded') and awkward word choices ('top seat was notched', 'most of the weekly incomes are spend upon'). These lexical slips and spelling mistakes prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as subordinate clauses ('whereas in 2018 leisure activities took the lead'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with passive voice formation ('was holded'), incorrect verb tenses ('most of thr families spend... thier weekly income'), and punctuation errors that create sentence fragments. These errors cause some distraction for the reader, justifying a Band 5.5 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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