Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05

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 Horizontal bar chart shows the data about how families in one nation spent their weekly income in year of 1968 and 2018

Overall, weekly income was mostly spent on food in 1968 where as in 2018, families spent on lesiure mostly. By contrast, lowest income was spend on fuel in both years. Household goods expenditure been static in both years around 8-10%.

Looking at figures, around 35% was spend on food in 1968 and approximately 17% in 2018. In sector of hosuing, around 8% weekly income was spent more in 2018 as compared to 1968. Familes spent less on personal goods as well as Fuel/power in 2018 as compared to 1968 where they spent more than 5 percent. Transport expenditure increases in 2018 by atleast 10%. For clothing and footwear, families spent weekly income 5% more than families in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially and falls short of the 150-word minimum length requirement, containing 141 words. While it attempts to present an overview and select some main features, the information provided is sometimes inaccurate or confusingly expressed. For instance, the claim that 'lowest income was spend on fuel in both years' overlooks that personal goods were also 4% in 2018. Furthermore, comparisons such as 'around 8% weekly income was spent more in 2018 as compared to 1968' for housing are poorly articulated and difficult to interpret alongside the actual chart data. To reach a higher level, the response needs to fully meet the word count requirement, present a clearer and more accurate overview of the main trends without statistical confusion, and ensure all key comparisons are stated precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation with basic paragraphing into an introduction, an overview, and body details, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or are missing, and referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, sentences in the body paragraphs jump between categories abruptly, such as moving from food and housing directly to personal goods and fuel without smooth transitions. Additionally, phrases like 'Looking at figures' are basic. To improve, you should employ a wider range of cohesive devices naturally to link sentences and paragraphs, and ensure ideas are sequenced logically so the reader can easily follow the progression from the overview into specific details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The lexical range is limited but minimally adequate to convey the topic of weekly family spending. There are noticeable spelling and word choice errors that detract from the response, such as 'lesiure' instead of 'leisure', 'hosuing' instead of 'housing', and awkward phrasing like 'Household goods expenditure been static'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success and occasional inaccuracies in word formation and collocation. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider and more precise range of vocabulary related to data trends, eliminate spelling mistakes entirely, and ensure accurate word forms in complex noun phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing shows a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing auxiliary verbs ('expenditure been static'), incorrect prepositions ('spend on food' used correctly, but 'spend on fuel' in passive constructions missing forms), and tense or article slips. Punctuation is also weak, with run-on phrasing and missing periods in places. To improve, you must increase your control over basic and complex grammatical structures, ensure proper subject-verb agreement and article usage, and reduce the frequency of errors that cause difficulty for the reader.

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