Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29

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 bar chart illustrates information about how much familiies spent their weekly income on food, housing fuel & power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, trasnport and Leisure in one country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, in 1968 the highest weekly proportion recorded as 35% for food and the lowest figure was recorded for fuel and power is 6% while housing and clothing and footware marked as 10% for average weekly expenditure. whereas Household goods, personal goods and transport remain equal at 7% however leisure is slightly higher at 8%

In 2008, Leisure is recorded the highest proportion of 23% and the lowest figure recorded for personal goods and fuel and power 4% each while housing, food and transport recorded slightly similars figure approximately at 19%,16% and 14% where all categories recorded moderate low as clothing and footware, household goods recorded 5% and 8% respectively.

In conclusion, in 1968 the higest proportion recorded for food where people spent their 35% weekly income in contrast the least proportion they spent on fuel and power. in compaision in 2018 the highest proportion is Leisure about 23% where the least they spent on fuel and power or personal goods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by selecting and reporting the main features of weekly spending in both 1968 and 2018, making relevant comparisons. An overall trend is provided in the introductory and concluding paragraphs, and key data points such as the peak spending on food in 1968 (35%) and leisure in 2018 (22-23%) are correctly identified. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in citing specific minor categories for 1968 (e.g., stating household goods and transport were 7% instead of 8%) and the year is incorrectly given as 2008 in the third paragraph. Despite these minor errors, the task is well-handled overall.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into four logical paragraphs: an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on specific years and categories, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'while', 'however', 'In 2008', and 'In conclusion' are used to structure the text, though some transitions are slightly mechanical or repetitive (e.g., starting multiple sentences with 'where'). Paragraphing is appropriate, and there is a clear progression of ideas from 1968 to 2018, ensuring the overall structure remains coherent despite minor mechanical flaws in referencing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'proportion', 'expenditure', 'category', and 'highest/lowest figure'. However, there are several spelling errors throughout the text, including 'familiies', 'footware' (repeated), 'trasnport', and 'compaision'. Attempts at less common vocabulary are generally successful, but word choice occasionally lacks precision (e.g., 'recorded as 35%', 'moderate low'). These errors do not impede communication but prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and comparative constructions (e.g., 'while housing and clothing and footware marked as 10%'). Grammatical control is generally adequate, but there are noticeable errors in verb tenses, passive/active voice confusion (e.g., 'Leisure is recorded the highest proportion'), and punctuation (run-on sentences lacking appropriate commas or conjunctions, especially in the conclusion). While these errors occur frequently, they rarely impede the reader's overall understanding of the data.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.