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)

This bar chart shows the weekly expenditures of families for two periods in various categories.

In year 1968, the highest percentage of expendinture for a family is 35% and it went to the food. Followed by the housing and clothing and footware (10%) .And the lowest expenses is the fuel and power which is just over 5%.

In year 2018, families spent more than 20% for the leisure, next by the housing which is less than 20%, not too far from the food. Small monies went to personal goods nearly 5%.

In 1968, it clearly showed that families prioritised their food as it accounted the highest percentage while in 2018 the alloted budget for food fluctuated for nearly half of 1968 percentage. Noticiable in 1968, families budget for housing started for 10% only and in 2018, it rocketed to almost double and is 19%.

In 2018, the family, probably gave more importance on their hobbies and fitness, meaning to say the leisure received an enormous increased which is 22%, in contrast for 1968 budget for leisure, for only less than 10%.

Overall, the families in 1968 has spent more in food comparing to 2018 whereas they spent more on leisure. In contrast, 2018 families doubled the portion for housing comparing to 1968 housing.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers most key features of the chart, successfully contrasting the data between 1968 and 2018. Major trends such as food expenditure decreasing significantly and leisure and housing increasing are highlighted. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting the exact data points, such as stating families spent 'more than 20% for the leisure' in 2018 when it is actually around 22%, and minor confusion with phrasing like 'fluctuated for nearly half'. Despite these minor flaws, the overview is present and the main comparisons are adequately drawn, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing different categories and years, and a clear concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, the progression between sentences can be slightly disjointed due to awkward phrasing and mechanical cohesive devices, such as 'next by the housing' and 'not too far from the food'. Reference words are sometimes unclear or repetitive. Overall, it achieves a coherent arrangement that allows the reader to follow the main points, aligning with the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for a task 1 response, including terms like 'expenditures', 'percentage', 'prioritised', and 'rocketed'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'went to the food', 'Small monies went to personal goods', and 'an enormous increased'. Spelling and word form errors, such as 'footware' and 'Noticiable', restrict the score. The vocabulary is adequate to convey the message, fitting the Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile, but errors prevent it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using relative clauses and comparative forms (e.g., 'as it accounted the highest percentage while in 2018...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent and recurrent. Issues include awkward prepositions ('went to', 'spent more for'), incorrect verb tenses or forms ('it clearly showed', 'has spent', 'enormous increased'), and missing articles. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they lower the accuracy level, placing the response firmly in the Band 5.0 range.

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

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