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 graph illustartes house members in respective country utalizing their weekly income on various items in particular years of 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, the family is spending more of their weekly income on food iteams followed by leisures.while the lowest is spend on fuel and power in both years.

Firstly increased amount of income is given on food, housing, clothing and footware upto 35% and 10% in 1968. In which leisure comes on second with around 10%, the remaining household goods, personal goods and transport upto 9% while fuela nd power is the lowest in th

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, stopping abruptly at 97 words, which severely impacts task completion. While the student attempts an overview and mentions some general categories like food and leisure, the summary is incomplete and trails off mid-sentence. Key trends and major shifts between 1968 and 2018 (such as the dramatic drop in food expenditure and the rise in housing and leisure) are not adequately developed or properly contrasted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response lacks sufficient length to demonstrate effective paragraphing or logical progression, consisting of an introductory sentence, a flawed overview, and an incomplete body paragraph that cuts off. Cohesive devices are minimal and mechanical ('Firstly'), and referencing is sometimes confusing, such as referring to 'the family' in the singular. Progression is disrupted by the premature ending.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Vocabulary usage is limited and contains numerous spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'illustartes', 'utalizing', 'iteams', and 'leisures'. While there is an attempt to use topic-related vocabulary like 'weekly income' and 'household goods', the errors and awkward collocations (e.g., 'increased amount of income is given on') constrain the lexical range and occasionally impede understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The writing shows a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences contain noticeable errors in prepositions, subject-verb agreement, and word forms (e.g., 'the lowest is spend on', 'fuela nd power'). The response ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence ('while fuela nd power is the lowest in th'), leaving grammatical structures incomplete.

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