Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The bar chart illustre about how families in one country spent their weekly income in between 1968 to 2018 .

Overall, it can see that clearly , this familie highly spend there income very impordant two sector food and housing .While there lowest income spend last two year fuel and power , and personal goods. And most notice able point household goods are smae the last two year they spend weekly income .

There weekly income spend food highest 35 percent but it percentage decreas around 17.5 percent in 1968 to 2018 .And second most high spend income housing there spend increasing income 10 percent to around 19 percent . While transport and leisure are increasing around 14 percent and probably 22 percent frome 1968 to 2018 .

In 1968 to 2018 there weekly income lowest spend fuel and power , and personsl goods . Ther fule and power around 6 percent in 1968 but 2018 it some decreace around 4 percent . While there personal doods smae way decreace between 1968 to 2018 .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart, noting the significant changes in food and housing spending, as well as mentioning transport and leisure. However, the response contains numerous inaccuracies in data reporting (e.g., stating food decreased 'around 17.5 percent' instead of to 17%, or misinterpreting household goods). The overview is poorly formed, featuring fragmented and unclear sentences that struggle to convey the overarching trends. Overall, the task is addressed only partially, corresponding to a Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as 'While there lowest income spend last two year' and repetitive transitions like 'While'. The referencing of data points is frequently unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison between 1968 and 2018. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion is faulty throughout, placing this response firmly at Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very limited and basic, with frequent spelling errors (e.g., 'illustre', 'familie', 'impordant', 'smae', 'personsl', 'fule', 'doods'). There is very little attempt at less common vocabulary, and where lexical items are tried, incorrect word forms and collocations are used (e.g., 'highly spend there income', 'high spend income'). These errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and restrict the lexical score to Band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is extremely weak. The response contains almost no error-free sentences. There are frequent basic errors in verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, sentence structure, and word order (e.g., 'it can see that clearly', 'there weekly income spend food highest 35 percent'). Complex sentence structures are attempted but are consistently faulty, often resulting in fragmented or unintelligible meanings. This reflects the descriptors for Band 4.0.

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

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