Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-25

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 illustrates the information of families in a country spending financial expenditure in 1968 or in 2018.

Overall , it begins with the formation of food and ends with the formation of leisure time .

In 1968 ,about 35 percent is spent on food . The fuel and power have the least expenses in 1968 which is about 6 percent .The expenses on tranportation and leisure is eqaually distributed about 9 percent.

However in 2018 , the leisure has the higher percent of about 22 and the leat expense in 2018 is on personal needs and in transpottion and powr fuel . Which ia about 4 percent

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response attempts to describe the main features of the chart comparing family spending in 1968 and 2018. However, it fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, stopping at only 108 words, which heavily restricts task completion. While some correct data points are identified, such as food at 35 percent in 1968 and leisure rising to 22 percent in 2018, the overview is extremely basic and the selection of data is incomplete. Several significant categories are omitted or poorly reported, and there is no well-developed comparison across the two years. To achieve a higher band, the writer must ensure the word count requirement is met and provide a more comprehensive, structured overview of the key trends and changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into very short paragraphs, but the overall organization lacks logical progression and clear cohesion. While paragraphing is attempted, sentences feel disjointed and mechanical, particularly due to abrupt transitions like 'Overall , it begins with the formation of food...' which use awkward phrasing ('formation' instead of 'categories' or 'proportions'). Reference words are sometimes missing or confusing, and cohesive devices are inadequate to guide the reader smoothly through the data comparisons. The sequencing of ideas is somewhat haphazard, moving between years and categories without a clear, cohesive roadmap.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical range is quite limited and repetitive. The student uses basic vocabulary such as 'expenses' and 'percent', and struggles with accurate word choice and collocation, as seen in phrases like 'formation of food' and 'tranportation and leisure is eqaually distributed'. There are also spelling errors such as 'tranportation', 'eqaually', 'leat', 'transpottion', and 'powr fuel'. While the intended meaning is sometimes recoverable, these lexical limitations and errors frequently impede smooth communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The grammatical range is very limited, consisting mostly of simple sentence structures with frequent errors. Complex structures are either absent or faulty, and there are persistent mechanical issues, such as incorrect spacing around punctuation marks (e.g., '1968 ,about') and sentence fragments like 'Which ia about 4 percent'. Subject-verb agreement and article use also show noticeable errors, such as 'The fuel and power have the least expenses' and 'the leisure has the higher percent'. These errors occur frequently and cause some difficulty for the reader.

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

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