Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-07

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 provides the knowledge about families, that how they spent their income in one week of two different year.

Overall, the food and the leisure had a highest spent in 1968 of about 35% and 2018 of about 22%.Moreover, the fuel and power had a lowest budget of about 4% in 2018 and 6% in 1968.

In 1968, food had a highest consumption of about 35%, while the budget ratio of housing and clothing-and-footwear were similiar of about 10%.Beside that, household goods, personal goods, and transport had about 8% of a weekly budget.However, fuel and power usage was about 6%, with the least percentage, respectively.

In 2018, leisure had a most budget of about 22%, while fuel-and-power and personal goods had a least usage ratio of about 4%.On the other hand, housing and food had the second and third highest budget of about 14% and 12%.Moreover, the other essential things of families had a average budget of around 5% to 10%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important features, including the sharp fall in food spending and the rise in leisure and housing, and you include figures for both years. However, some key comparisons are inaccurate: in 2018, housing was about 19% and food about 17%, not 14% and 12%. The overview also says food and leisure were the highest categories in 1968 and 2018 respectively, but does not clearly summarise the main changes across the period. Some descriptions, such as “the other essential things” averaging 5% to 10%, are too broad and do not accurately represent the range, which includes transport at about 14%. More precise reporting and a clearer overview of the major shifts would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 1968 and 2018. This helps the reader follow the year-by-year account. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes weakened by repetitive or awkward linking, such as “Moreover,” “Beside that,” and “On the other hand,” where the relationships between figures are not always clear. The overview also combines the highest category in each year with the lowest fuel figures, rather than presenting the main changes in a well-connected summary. Grouping categories by rises, falls, and similar spending levels, and using more precise links between comparisons, would create a clearer overall progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “weekly budget,” “percentage,” “housing,” and “fuel and power,” so the subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably unnatural: “provides the knowledge,” “highest spent,” “highest consumption,” and “least usage ratio.” These expressions make the description less precise, particularly because the chart shows spending proportions rather than consumption or usage. There are also spelling errors, including “similiar,” and inconsistent forms such as “clothing-and-footwear.” Use standard chart language such as “accounted for,” “share of income,” and “expenditure,” and check spelling and category labels carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and clauses introduced by “Moreover.” However, many sentences contain errors in structure, articles, agreement, or punctuation, and these sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “The chart provides the knowledge about families, that how they spent” has an incorrect clause structure, while “the food and the leisure had a highest spent” has faulty article use and sentence construction. There are also missing spaces after full stops and inconsistent sentence boundaries. Practise building accurate comparison sentences, such as “Food accounted for 35% in 1968, compared with 17% in 2018,” before adding more complex clauses.

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