Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The bar graph compares how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and 2018.
Overall, food had the highest percentage in 1968, whereas leisure recorded the highest in 2018. Moreover, personal goods and fuel/power had thw lowest percentages in 2018, while fuel and power had the lowest percentage in 1968. Household goods was remaining the same in both years while spending their weekly income.
Food had 35% in 1968, whereas housing and clothing/footware accounted for 10%. Transport and household and personal goods recorded 8% in 1968. Leisure and fuel/power accounted for 9% and 6% respectively in 1968.
Leisure had the highest percentage in 2018 where citizens spent their 23% of the salary, while spending on housing rose to 18% in 2018. Fuel/power and personal goods each recorded 4% in 2018 and food recorded 17% in 2018. Transport had 14% of that total, whereas household goods accounted for 8% in 2018.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of weekly spending in both 1968 and 2018. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing key shifts such as food being highest in 1968 and leisure in 2018. Data points are cited with reasonable accuracy, such as food starting at 35% and dropping to 17%, and housing rising to around 18% or 19%. However, there is a minor contradiction or confusion in the presentation of some data: the student states that "personal goods and fuel/power had thw lowest percentages in 2018," yet earlier notes fuel and power at 4% and personal goods at 4% alongside other figures. Furthermore, some data points are slightly imprecise. Overall, the main trends and comparisons are adequately addressed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement and follows a logical structure. It begins with an introduction and an overview paragraph, followed by a body paragraph detailing the 1968 data and another detailing the 2018 data. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'whereas', 'moreover', and 'respectively'. However, paragraphing could be better integrated, and some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in their sentence openings (e.g., 'Food had...', 'Leisure had...'). Referencing is generally clear, though paragraph boundaries are somewhat abrupt.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms related to statistics and finance such as 'percentage', 'accounted for', 'recorded', and 'proportion' concepts. There are a few spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'thw' instead of 'the', and the awkward phrase 'Household goods was remaining the same in both years while spending their weekly income'. Despite these minor slips, the lexical resource is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing dependent clauses and comparative structures like 'whereas' and 'while'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward constructions, such as 'was remaining the same', 'spending their weekly income' (which misuses a participial phrase relative to the subject), and typo-level slips like 'thw'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and the errors do not impede overall comprehension, fitting comfortably into the Band 6 profile.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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