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 bar chart illustrates the spending of their weekly income on different things in ome country on 1968 and 2018. Looking from an overall perspective, it is apparent that the highest proportion of weekly spending on food in 1968 and on leisure activities in 2018 while the lowest percentage of income was on fuel and power in both years.

To begin with, the weekly income spending on food was accounted for 35% which was considerable hiher than 2018 spending while the spending on housing was expensive in 2018 than 1968 which was at 18% and 10% respectively. Moreover, the spending on fuel and power was very less as compared to other spending there was slight differenece between the spending of of 1968 and 2018 while the the clothing and footware was expensive in 1968 than 2018 which was accounted for 10% and 5% respectively. In addition to this the expense on household goods was same in both year at 8%.

On the other hand the expense on pesonal was about 7% and 5% in 1968 and 2018 respectively, while expense

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially by attempting to cover the main features of the chart, such as the highest spending on food in 1968 and leisure in 2018. However, the information is presented with noticeable omissions and inaccuracies, such as stating that 'expense on pesonal was about 7% and 5%' while cutting off mid-sentence. Additionally, comparisons are sometimes imprecise or awkward, for instance describing spending as 'expensive' rather than 'higher' or 'greater'. While an overview is attempted in the introduction, the overall development of ideas is limited, and key trends over the fifty-year period are not fully or accurately articulated, placing this response at the expected level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation evident through the use of transitional phrases like 'To begin with' and 'On the other hand', but the overall progression of information lacks clarity. The text suffers from abrupt shifts and mechanical linking, and the abrupt cut-off at the end significantly disrupts the coherence of the piece. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final section is incomplete and fails to form a proper concluding or developing thought. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the lack of smooth transitions between sentences makes the underlying logic difficult to follow at times, reflecting the characteristics of this level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, though it is minimally adequate to convey basic data. There are frequent instances of inappropriate word choice and collocations, such as using 'expensive' to describe percentages of income ('spending on housing was expensive in 2018') rather than words denoting proportion or amount. Spelling and word formation errors also appear, including 'ome' instead of 'one', 'hiher', 'differenece', and 'pesonal'. These lexical inaccuracies and limitations mean the range of vocabulary remains restricted, though communication of the core topic is still generally maintained.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple or faulty complex constructions. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with prepositions, articles, and passive/active voice, such as in 'the weekly income spending on food was accounted for 35%' and 'spending of of 1968'. Subject-verb agreement and word order issues also occur. These persistent errors frequently cause difficulty for the reader and demonstrate a lack of firm control over basic grammatical forms and punctuation, consistent with the designated band.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.