Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-30
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 bar chart illustrate about how families in one country spent their weekly income in the year, 1968 and 2018.
Overall, it is clear that most families spent their weekly income on leisure, in 1968, while food is dominating the trend in 2018. Furthermore, people spent less on other things, such as fuel and power, housing goods and so on.
Looking at the details, in 1968, about 18% of income is spent on food, while the percentage rose steadily to 35% in 2018, dominating the chart. Furthermore, about 23% of income is spent on leisure in 1968, while the percentage fell to around 8% in 2018.
On the other hand, only less than 5% was spent on personal goods and fuel and power in 1968, where they slightly increased to 8% and 6% in 2018. Similarly, families spent 13% on transport in 1968, while it decreased to 8% in 2018.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the main features of the bar chart comparing family spending in 1968 and 2018. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in the data reported. For instance, the student states that food was 'dominating the trend in 2018' at 35% and leisure was at 18% in 1968, whereas the chart shows that food was 35% in 1968 and dropped to 17% in 2018, while leisure rose to 22% in 2018. These reversed figures misrepresent the visual data entirely. While an overview is present and comparisons are made, the severe data errors prevent a higher score, as the information presented is factually incorrect regarding the source chart.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a logical layout with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific categories. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Looking at the details', and 'On the other hand' are used to signpost the progression of ideas. Paragraphing is attempted appropriately to separate different aspects of the chart. However, cohesion is affected by the confusion in data reporting, and referencing sometimes lacks precision. Overall, the structural arrangement provides a clear framework, even though the internal logical progression suffers due to the inverted data points.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic summary, employing terms such as 'percentage', 'rose steadily', and 'decreased'. However, the range is somewhat limited and repetitive, with phrases like 'spent their weekly income' recurring frequently. There are also inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'housing goods' instead of 'household goods', and phrasing like 'illustrate about'. While the vocabulary allows the writer to convey basic comparative concepts, errors in collocation and lexical precision prevent it from reaching a higher band level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as subordinate clauses introduced by 'while' and 'as'. There are, however, notable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout the text. For example, 'The bar chart illustrate' contains a subject-verb agreement error, and the use of tenses is occasionally inconsistent with the historical data being discussed. Punctuation errors are also present, such as the unnecessary comma in 'in the year, 1968 and 2018'. Although meaning can generally be followed, errors persist across simple and complex forms.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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