Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The table chart compare the difference of how famalies spending was changed in the last 50 years in a nation.

Overall, it is easy to seen that famalies spending on the food are nearly decreased by 50% and they start prefering to spent more on the housing and leisure.

firstly, famalies were spent 35% of weekly income on food in 1968 but in 2018, it nearly remain around 17%. On the other hand, famalies spending on housing were increased and almost become double. There are not any large difference came in spending on fuel and power but in clothing famalies only spend 5% of weekly income in 2018 and this number was 10% in the 1968.

Secondly, the biggest increase of famalies spending was seen in the leisure which was 9% in the 1998 and increased to 23% in the 2018. Shockingally there are not any difference came in the spending on household items. But the weekly spending of famalies were increased in the transport. Famalies start spending low on the personal good.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main shift from food towards housing and leisure, and you support this with relevant figures: food falls from 35% to about 17%, while housing rises from 10% to 19%. You also compare clothing, household goods and transport, so the response addresses the chart rather than focusing on only one category. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: leisure is given as 9% in “1998” rather than 1968, and the chart shows 22% in 2018, not 23%. The statement that families “start spending low” on personal goods does not clearly report the fall from 8% to 4%. A more precise overview and clearer reporting of these less-developed comparisons would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of comparisons. “Overall,” “firstly,” and “Secondly” help signal the stages of the discussion, and related categories are generally grouped together. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, and several links between ideas are unclear. For example, “Shockingally there are not any difference came…” interrupts the comparison without explaining why the unchanged household-goods figure matters. The final sentence about personal goods is also too vague to connect clearly with the preceding transport comparison. Use more precise transitions to show contrast or similarity, and organise the details into clearer groups, such as decreases and increases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “difference,” and the reader can usually understand the categories being compared. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “table chart,” “fam alies spending,” “prefering to spent,” and “Shockingally.” Repetition of “spending” and “families” also makes the description less flexible. Aim for accurate, natural phrases such as “the proportion of income spent on” and “remained unchanged.” Check spelling carefully, especially in key terms, and choose verbs that describe the data precisely rather than relying on general words such as “came” or “start.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including comparisons with “but” and “on the other hand,” so there is some variety in structure. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction occur throughout and sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “it is easy to seen,” “families were spent,” “spending … were increased,” and “There are not any large difference came.” The sentence about families preferring to spend more also has an incorrect verb pattern. Practise forming accurate past-tense descriptions and use a clear subject–verb structure, for example, “Spending on housing increased from 10% to 19%.” More reliable control of these patterns would make your comparisons easier to understand.

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