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 response attempts to cover the main features of the chart, noting trends such as the drop in food spending from 35% to 17% and the increase in leisure and housing. However, the task achievement is significantly hindered by numerous misinterpretations and confusing expressions, such as stating that 'household goods are same the last two year' when household goods remained at 8% but other categories shifted notably. The overview is weak, confused by poor grammar and awkward phrasing ('this familie highly spend there income very impordant two sector food and housing'). While the writer attempts to select and report main features, the lack of clarity and logical development places this response at Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is divided into four paragraphs, which shows an attempt at structure. However, there is a distinct lack of overall progression and logical cohesion. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, resulting in disjointed sentences (e.g., 'While there lowest income spend last two year fuel and power , and personal goods'). Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion fails due to broken syntax and repetitive phrasing. Referencing is frequently unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the intended comparisons between 1968 and 2018. This corresponds to Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with frequent spelling errors throughout the text (e.g., 'illustre', 'familie', 'impordant', 'notice able', 'smae', 'decreas', 'personsl', 'fule', 'doods'). The student struggles with word forms and collocations, using 'spend' as a noun or incorrect verb form repeatedly ('there weekly income spend food highest 35 percent'). There is no evidence of less common lexical items used accurately or appropriately. The range is limited and frequently causes strain for the reader, fitting the Band 4.0 descriptors closely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is extremely weak throughout the response. The student fails to produce error-free sentences, and almost every sentence contains severe errors in tense, subject-verb agreement, word order, and basic sentence structure (e.g., 'Overall, it can see that clearly , this familie highly spend there income very impordant two sector'). Complex sentence structures are non-existent or completely faulty, and punctuation is misused (e.g., spaces before commas). Errors are pervasive and constantly impede communication, justifying a Band 4.0 score.

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

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