Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-01
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 below gives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
The chart shows the average weekly spending by families. On the base of chart in 1968 the food, fuel and power, clothing and footware and personal goods is the high ratio other hand in 2018 transport, leisure and housing is the high ratio in 2018 and balanced ration in only household goods.
According to the chart the the chart shows the average ratio of weekly spending by families. In 2018 the ratio of food, fuel and power, clothing and footware and personal goods is less than year 1968. There are large different in food 35% and other less from 10% of weekly income. The charts show the same ratio of household goods in 1968 and 2018. The families of Leisure, transport and housing is less ratio in 1968 and large ratio show in 2018.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the task only partially, presenting an incomplete overview of the data. While the student attempts to highlight key trends—such as the drop in food spending from 35% to 17% and the stable 8% for household goods—the reporting of details is confused and lacks clarity. For instance, stating that 'food, fuel and power, clothing and footware and personal goods is the high ratio' in 1968 contains factual inaccuracies regarding categories like personal goods and footwear, which were not the highest. Furthermore, the selection of features lacks sufficient development, and the lack of a clear, structured overview prevents the response from achieving a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
There is some basic organization present, but the response lacks a clear overall progression. The essay is poorly paragraph-divided, with repetitive statements appearing across sentences, such as reiterating that 'the chart shows the average ratio of weekly spending by families' multiple times. Cohesive devices are minimal, inadequate, or inaccurate, as seen in phrases like 'On the base of chart' and 'other hand in 2018'. Referencing is frequently unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the logical development of ideas. To improve, the student needs to use logical paragraph breaks, introduce a clear introductory overview, and employ accurate cohesive links to connect sentences smoothly.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student relies heavily on repetitive vocabulary such as 'ratio', 'spending', and 'families'. There are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, including 'footware' instead of footwear, 'balanced ration' instead of balanced proportion, and awkward phrasing like 'the families of Leisure, transport and housing is less ratio'. These errors, alongside non-standard collocations, cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher level of precision and flexibility.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response displays a very limited range of structures, consisting mostly of simple sentences alongside faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and prepositions, such as 'is the high ratio' instead of 'represented the highest proportion' and 'There are large different' instead of 'There is a large difference'. Punctuation is also weak, and missing articles frequently disrupt sentence flow. These frequent errors cause strain and difficulty for the reader throughout the text.
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