Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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 chart shows the percentage of weekly income of families in one country during the period of 1968 to 2018. This chart shows the data of a period about 50 years. The black colour indicate the year 1968 however, the grey colour represents the year 2018.

The chart clearly show that in 1968 the most the percentage of weekly income was spent on food as it was 35% however it gradually drop down to almost 17-18 percent in 2018.Here is the clear difference between both of these percentage in food. Furthermore, in 2018 major percentage of weekly income was spent on leisure but it was very higher then the past, as it was almost 8-9 percent in 1968. So it is clear that in 1968 mostly families spent on food and in 2018 most of the families love to spent on leisure.The other expenses include housing, fuel and power, clothing and foothwear, household goods, personal goods, and transport.

In 1968 only 10% families spent thier weekly income on housing, 6^ of thier weekly income on fuel and power, 10% of thier income clothing and foottwear, 7-8% for each in thier household goods, personal goods and transport. Hence, they will clearly spent equally on household goods, personal goods and transport.

Furthermore, in 2018 families spent almost 19% in housing and 4% in fuel and power and the same share in personal goods which is 4%. However ther household goods are containing same percentage in 1968 and 2018 of almsot 7%.However, 5% of the families spent on clothing and footwear but in 2018 the percentage in transport increases rapidly which is 14%.

This chart report the main features and comparison between the percentage of expenses of families in 1968 and 2018

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. The writer correctly highlights food as the highest expense in 1968 and leisure as a major focus in 2018, fulfilling the basic requirements of the prompt. However, some ideas and details are under-developed or inaccurately reported. For instance, the statement that 'only 10% families spent their weekly income on housing' misinterprets the data as a percentage of families rather than a percentage of income. Additionally, while an overview is attempted at the end, it lacks integration into the main body and is somewhat repetitive. To reach a higher band, the student should ensure data points are interpreted accurately as proportions of expenditure rather than numbers of people, and provide a more fully developed, cohesive overview at the beginning of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to group information logically by time period and categories. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, main trends, and specific details, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Devices such as 'furthermore' and 'however' are overused or placed awkwardly, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in sentences like 'Here is the clear difference between both of these percentage in food.' The progression of ideas stumbles at times due to abrupt transitions between sentences and repetitive phrasing. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that each paragraph flows smoothly into the next with clear logical links.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic comparisons and changes over time, such as 'percentage,' 'weekly income,' and 'gradually drop down.' The writer attempts some less common vocabulary and comparative phrases, but there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include 'very higher then,' 'mostly families spent,' 'foothwear,' and 'ther household goods are containing same percentage.' Spelling errors and awkward word choices appear throughout the text, though they do not completely impede communication. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to expand their range of lexical items, pay closer attention to word forms and collocations, and minimize spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, attempting structures like relative clauses and comparative constructions. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can cause difficulty for the reader. Issues include verb tense inconsistencies and errors in agreement, such as 'The black colour indicate,' 'transport increases rapidly' (when describing past data), and preposition errors like 'spent in housing.' There are also punctuation flaws, such as missing spaces after periods and awkward comma splices. To reach a higher band, the student needs to exercise better control over basic grammatical structures, ensure accurate verb tense usage when reporting past data, and improve punctuation and sentence boundary control.

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

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