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 CHART ILLUSTRATES THE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY FAMILIES SPENT THEIR WEEKLY INCOME IN 1968 AND 2018. THE DATA ARE MEASURED AS PERCENTAGE.
TO START WITH, IN 1968, A SMALLER AMOUNT OF MONEY WAS SPENT ON FUEL AND POWERAS CPMPAREDWITH FOOD, MOST INDIVIDUALS SPENT THEIR WEEKLY INCOME ON FOOD ITEMS WITH 35%. SIMILAR TREND WAS SEEN ON HOUSING, CLOTHING AND FOOTWARE WITH 10%. SOME INDIVIDUALS SPENT THEIR MONEY ON TRANSPORT AND ON LEISURE ACTIVITIES WITH 7 AND 8% RESPECTIVELY.
MOVING FURTHER, IN 2018, A HIGH AMOUNT OF MONEY WAS SPENT ON LEISURE ACTIVITIES WITH 23%. SIMILAR TREND WAS SEEN ON FOOD AND HOUSING WITH 16 TO 17% RESPECTIVELY. A SMALLER AMOUNT OF MONEY WAS SPENT BY INDIVIDUALS ON FUEL, POWER, CLOTHING ,FOOTWARE AND PERSONAL GOODS WITH 5 TO 6%.
OVERALL, AVERAGE INCOME WAS SPENT ON FOOD AND LEISURE IN BOTH YEARS BUT LESS ON FUEL, HOUSEHOLD GOODS.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the chart, noting the highest and lowest spending categories for both years such as food in 1968 (35%) and leisure in 2018 (22%). Some comparisons are made between the two years. However, the student wrote only 149 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words, leading to a penalty under this criterion. Furthermore, a few figures contain minor inaccuracies compared to the source data, such as reporting transport and leisure in 1968 as 7% and 8% instead of the actual approximate figures. The overview is also rather brief and omits some notable shifts, such as the substantial rise in housing and transport expenditure over the fifty-year period.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs for each year, and a brief concluding overview. The progression of ideas is generally clear, moving from 1968 to 2018. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive, relying heavily on transitional phrases like 'TO START WITH', 'MOVING FURTHER', and 'OVERALL'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the lack of proper sentence boundary punctuation in places disrupts the flow of information. Paragraphing is present, but the overall structural cohesion needs more sophisticated linking to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate to communicate the basic trends in the visual data, utilizing terms such as 'percentage', 'weekly income', and 'leisure activities'. However, the lexical range is rather limited and repetitive, with frequent reuse of phrases like 'amount of money was spent' and 'similar trend was seen'. There are also lexical errors and spelling mistakes, such as 'FOOTWARE' instead of 'footwear' and 'CPMPAREDWITH' instead of 'compared with'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but lacks precision in word choice, restricting the lexical score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response employs a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, the text suffers from a major formatting issue with entire sentences written in uppercase letters, and there are noticeable punctuation and grammatical errors, such as missing commas and run-on structures. For example, 'FUEL AND POWERAS CPMPAREDWITH FOOD' contains a spacing and typographical error. While simple sentences are generally understandable, errors in complex constructions and basic mechanics are frequent enough to occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.
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