Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given chart explains the comparison of weekly spendings of families in 2018 and 1968. How much percentage of weekly income spend on different expenses.

Families in 1968 spent most of their weekly income on food that is 35 percent of their income while in 2018 it reduces to half of 35. However for housing, transport and for leisure the 2018 families spend more of their income than of 1968 while 1968 families use their income more on fuel and power, personal goods, clothing and footware and food. The only expense that is household goods consume equal amount of weekly income of boyh 1968 and 2018 families.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response covers some of the main features, noting that food was the highest expense in 1968 and decreased significantly, while categories like housing, transport, and leisure increased in 2018. It also correctly identifies that household goods remained equal. However, the response has a major weakness in length, containing only 107 words, which falls well short of the 150-word minimum requirement. Furthermore, the overview is weak, consisting of a fragmented second sentence ('How much percentage of weekly income spend on different expenses.'), and some data points lack precise framing. Due to the significant under-length penalty and limited data coverage, this falls under Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response attempts to organise the information by contrasting 1968 with 2018 and grouping trends together using cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'while'. However, the structure is severely hindered by the lack of proper paragraphing—the entire response is written as a single, poorly structured block of text. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise ('boyh 1968 and 2018 families'), and the flow is disrupted by incomplete sentences and run-on structures. While there is a basic logical arrangement attempting to compare the data sets, the mechanical cohesion and absence of distinct paragraphs keep the score at Band 5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary relevant to the visual data, such as 'weekly income', 'expenses', and specific categories like 'food', 'housing', and 'household goods'. However, there are noticeable lexical and spelling errors, such as 'spendings' instead of 'spending', 'footware' instead of 'footwear', and 'boyh' instead of 'both'. The vocabulary is mostly basic and repetitive, lacking advanced or less common lexical items that would allow for greater precision in discussing statistical data. These limitations and errors place the lexical control at a Band 5 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Families in 1968 spent most of their weekly income on food that is 35 percent of their income while in 2018 it reduces to half of 35.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, including tense inconsistencies ('reduces' instead of 'reduced'), missing prepositions, and a fragmented fragment sentence ('How much percentage of weekly income spend on different expenses.'). Because these errors recur and occasionally cause strain for the reader, the grammar fits the Band 5 descriptor.

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