Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The bar chart illustrates  how families use their money weekly in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the families use cosiderable proportion of weekly income on food, the smallest proportion spend on fuel and power.They also spend averge amount on leisure.

Firstly, in 1968 houshold spend 35% of weekly income on food that reduced to around 18% in 2018. Furthermore, they use 10% of their weekly funds on housing in 1968, which increased to 18% in 2018. Families use minimum money of weekly income on fuel that are 7% in 1968 and 4% in 2018.

Secondly,they use 10% amount on clothing and footware in 1968,spending on clothing and footware fell slightly reached at 5% in 2018. Family members use same amount of money in both years that are around 7.5%. They also spend 7% of weekly money on personal goods in 1968, and reached at 4% in 2018.

Lastly, Transportation also consume a small amount of weekly icome that are 8% in 1968 and 14% in 2018. In addition, in 1968 leisure use 9% of weekly funds and massive increase in 2018 that are 22%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart, providing a clear overview comparing 1968 and 2018. Key trends are identified, such as the dramatic decrease in food spending from 35% to 17% and the rise in leisure expenditure. However, some ideas and comparisons are slightly under-developed or imprecise, such as stating 'Family members use same amount of money in both years that are around 7.5%' for household goods, which lacks clarity. To reach a higher band, the response would need to ensure all highlighted data points are fully elaborated and precisely connected without vague generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to organise information logically by grouping data into paragraphs introduced by transition markers such as 'Firstly' and 'Secondly'. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. The referencing and logical progression between sentences can feel disjointed, and linking devices are occasionally overused or repetitive without adding true discursive flow. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs requires tighter organisation to ensure seamless reading from one point to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to data reporting such as 'proportion', 'expenditure', and 'fluctuate', though these are occasionally misused or misspelled. There are several noticeable lexical errors, such as 'cosiderable', 'houshold', 'footware', and 'icome', along with repetitive phrasing like 'use ... amount of money'. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they demonstrate a lack of precision that keeps the lexical score at the current level. More careful word choice and correct spelling are required to progress.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and mechanics is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles, such as 'that reduced to', 'houshold spend', and 'minimum money of weekly income on fuel that are 7%'. Punctuation and prepositions also show recurring inaccuracies. While the meaning remains mostly clear despite these errors, the high frequency of basic grammatical slips prevents the response from achieving a higher band.

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