Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-28

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 5.5)

The given bar chat illustrates the information about how many families members spend their weekly income in 1968 and 2018. The data has been measured in percentage.

To start with, in 1968, less amount of money was spent by individuals in Fuel and Power with 7% as compared with food, majority of the money was spend in purchasing food with 35%. Similar trend was seen in both Housing, Clothing and Footware with 10%. Most of the families spending less money in Transport, Household goods and Personal goods with 8%.

Moving further, in 2018, high amount of money was spent in Leisure acticities with 23%. Average weekly income spend in Housing and Food with 18% and 17% respectively. 4 to 5% weekly income spend in Fuel, Clothing and Personal goods.

Overall, high amount of weekly income was spend in both Food and Leisure activities and less in Food, Power and Personal goods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the prompt by reporting figures for both 1968 and 2018, such as noting that food accounted for 35% in 1968 and highlighting leisure at 23% in 2018. However, there are numerous inaccuracies and misreadings of the chart data. For instance, the student states that fuel and power was 7% in 1968 (chart shows around 6%) and that housing, clothing, and footwear were all at 10% (clothing is actually 10%, but housing is also 10%; however, other comparisons contain errors). Furthermore, the overview section contains contradictory information, stating that high amounts were spent on food and leisure, but concluding with less in food, power, and personal goods (food was high in 1968 but dropped significantly by 2018). Consequently, the response achieves a Band 5.5 as ideas are somewhat limited and contain inaccuracies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is structured into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction, two body paragraphs, and a concluding overview. Cohesive devices are attempted to guide the reader through the data, using phrases like 'To start with,' 'Moving further,' and 'Overall.' However, paragraphing is somewhat basic and the logical progression between sentences is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and unclear referencing. For example, the sentence 'Most of the families spending less money in Transport...' suffers from grammatical awkwardness that disrupts the flow. Cohesion overall is somewhat mechanical and repetitive, earning a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical range is relatively limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic phrasing such as 'high amount of money,' 'less amount of money,' and 'spend' (often used incorrectly instead of 'spent'). There are also vocabulary errors and typos throughout the text, including 'bar chat' instead of 'chart,' 'acticities' instead of 'activities,' and incorrect verb forms. Some less common vocabulary is attempted, such as 'proportion' (implicitly) or specific categories, but inaccuracies in word formation and collocation prevent the score from rising higher. This corresponds to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are persistent errors in verb tense, voice, and agreement. For example, the student writes 'less amount of money was spent... with 7% as compared with food, majority of the money was spend in purchasing food' and 'Most of the families spending less money in Transport,' which lack proper finite verbs or contain incorrect tense usage ('spend' instead of 'spent'). Preposition errors (e.g., 'spend in' rather than 'spend on') and punctuation slips are also frequent. These errors occasionally impede smooth reading, placing the grammar at a Band 5.0.

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

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