Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-08

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 5.0)

The chart illustrates information about families in particular one country spent their every seven days earnings on eight different source in 1968 and in 2018.

To begin with, the amount spent on Food nearly 17 in 1968 while 35 in 2018. It means that people more preffred to spent their money on food in 2018. Furthermore, on Housing the amount spent was 10 in 1968 while closely 19 in 2018. Additionally, people less preffered to spent money on Fuel and power.

In additoion, People spent their money on Clothing and footware was about 5 and 10 in 1968 and 2018 repectively. Meanwhile, people also less liked to spend their money on Personal goods. In addition, in 1968 people do not loved to spend their money on Leisure activity: however they more preffered to spend their money on Leisure activity which was about nearly 23% in 2018.

To conclude that, Food was the most valuable source to spend their money in 1968 while Leisure was the most known source to spend their money in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two years and several spending categories, and your conclusion correctly notes that food was the largest item in 1968 while leisure was the largest in 2018. However, the account is only partially accurate: you reverse the food figures, saying it was nearly 17% in 1968 and 35% in 2018, when the chart shows the opposite. You also give clothing figures in reverse order and do not report clear values for fuel and power or personal goods. The overview is limited to the largest categories and does not summarise the broader shifts, such as the rise in housing and transport and the fall in clothing and fuel. Select the main changes accurately and compare them directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a concluding sentence. Sequencing words such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “In addition” help signal movement between points. However, the progression is not consistently clear: categories are listed without a strong grouping or comparison, and several sentences repeat the idea that people preferred or did not like spending on an item. Some links are awkward, particularly “To conclude that,” and the contrast introduced by “Meanwhile” is not clearly developed. Organise the details around the main increases and decreases, and use linking expressions to show those relationships rather than simply adding another category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant category names from the chart, including “Housing,” “Fuel and power,” and “Personal goods,” and attempt to describe comparisons with phrases such as “while” and “more preferred.” However, vocabulary is limited and repetitive, especially the repeated wording “spent their money” and “preferred to spend.” Several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing chart data: “every seven days earnings,” “different source,” “most valuable source,” and “most known source” do not express the intended meanings clearly. Spelling errors such as “preffred,” “additoion,” and “repectively” also make the writing less precise. Use concise reporting language such as “accounted for,” “rose,” “fell,” and “the largest share.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including comparisons with “while” and a contrast introduced by “however.” Nevertheless, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur in basic sentence patterns as well as in more extended clauses. For example, “people more preffered to spent” has an incorrect verb pattern, while “people spent their money on Clothing and footware was about…” lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also problems with articles, plurals and agreement in “one country” and “eight different source,” and punctuation around “however” is faulty. Practise forming accurate comparison sentences, for example, “Spending on food fell from 35% to 17%,” and check verb forms and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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