Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-27

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 illustraions shows that how the one country families spent their weekly earning in 1968 and in 2018. Overall, families had spend largest amount on food in 1968 but in 2018 their spend largest amount on leisure.

It is quite evident from the bar chart that average percentage of the income spending by families. Their spend 10 percent of weekly income on both house or clothing and footware in 1968. Their spend large amount of their income on food in 1968 and spend same amount on household good, personal good and transport almost 7 percent in 1968. Their spend smallest amount on fuel and power and remaining earning spend on leisure alomst 9 percent in 1968.

Furthermore, their spend more income on housing as compare clothing and footware in 2018. The largest amount of their weekly income on leisure and smallest amount spend on both fuel or power and personal goods in 2018.Their spend almost same amount on both food and housing in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart comparing weekly spending in 1968 and 2018, noting shifts such as food being the highest expense in 1968 and leisure in 2018. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the student states that families spent 'almost same amount on both food and housing in 2018' (food was 17% while housing was 19%, which are close, but other categories are misreported or vague) and claims they spent '7 percent' on household goods, personal goods, and transport in 1968 (transport was 8%, household goods 8%, personal goods 8%). The overview is simplistic and the data selection lacks precision. This performance aligns with Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into three paragraphs, providing some basic structure. However, logical progression is weak and ideas are disjointed. The second paragraph attempts to list various 1968 data points but uses repetitive sentence starters like 'Their spend' and 'Their spend'. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, and referencing is frequently unclear ('Their spend largest amount...'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal flow of ideas lacks clear signposting or sophisticated transitions. This reflects Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently revolving around simple terms like 'spend', 'amount', 'income', and 'food'. There are persistent word choice and form errors, such as 'illustraions' for illustrations, 'earning' for earnings, 'house' for housing, 'clothing and footware' (spelling error for footwear), and 'household good' instead of goods. The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for the task, with noticeable errors in word forms that restrict precision. This corresponds to a Band 5 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The student demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or attempt complex forms that result in severe grammatical errors. There is a persistent subject-verb agreement and pronoun error across the entire response, notably the repeated use of 'Their spend' instead of 'They spent'. Other errors include 'The illustraions shows that how the one country families spent...' and missing auxiliary verbs. Frequent grammatical errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and impede fluent communication, fitting the Band 4 descriptors.

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.