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 bar illustartes the distribution of average weekly spendings by families across eight categories in the year 1968 and 2018.

Overall, spendings on food remained popular in 1968 while after 50 years in 2018 it declined considerably. In 2018, spendings on lesiure items saw an upward trend as comapred to 1968.

In 1968, families spend more on food and clothing and footware recorded highest at 35% and 10% respectively, of their weekly income. In 2018, it saw downward trend and people spend more of their income on the housing and transport.

For the fuel and power, weekly percenatge was recoded at approximately 6% while in 2018 this spending was less than 10%. for the both years, household goods were remained at equal percentage round about 8%. As for personal goods, families spend 8% of their weekly income nut in 2018 it declined half of it and recorded at 4%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast between food spending in 1968 and leisure spending in 2018, and you include several relevant figures, such as food at 35% and household goods at about 8% in both years. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not clearly summarise the major shifts in housing and transport, and the statement that clothing and footwear was among the highest categories in 1968 is misleading, since food was much higher. Some comparisons are also vague or inaccurate; for example, fuel and power fell from about 6% to 4%, rather than simply being “less than 10%” in 2018. The response is one word below the required minimum. To strengthen coverage, report the key rises and falls accurately and give a clearer overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to details, so the reader can follow its general purpose. However, progression is limited because the body does not group the categories into clear comparisons, and several points are presented as separate observations without a strong organising pattern. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In 2018,” and “As for” help, but some connections are unclear: “In 2018, it saw downward trend” does not make clear which spending category “it” refers to. The final paragraph also combines fuel, household goods, and personal goods without a clear sequence. Grouping increases and decreases, then using precise references, would make the account more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “categories,” “declined,” and “approximately,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons you intend. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision. “Spendings” is not the natural noun here; use “spending” or “expenditure.” “Remained popular” suggests preference rather than the proportion of income, while “saw an upward trend” is less precise than saying leisure spending increased. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “illustartes,” “lesiure,” “comapred,” and “percenatge.” Use accurate chart-reporting terms consistently and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including a contrast with “while” and a comparison introduced by “As for.” However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur in several sentences. For example, “families spend more” should be “families spent more,” and “clothing and footware recorded highest” needs a clearer grammatical construction, such as “clothing and footwear accounted for 10%.” The phrase “household goods were remained” incorrectly combines passive forms; write “household-goods spending remained.” Sentence boundaries and capitalisation also need attention, as “for the both years” begins with a lowercase letter after a full stop. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and straightforward comparison structures before adding complexity.

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