Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-09

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)

Expenditure of weekly income of different domestic units in year 1968 and 2018 of a country is demonstrated by the given chart. It reflects their daily usage in different time periods.

The families spend their most resources on things such as food, housing, fuel and power, transport and many more. These are the things which are vital for human beings to survive peacefully in both the era's. But a trend is commonly observed in the data that quantity of allocation of resources on every thing is increase by a large percentage in year 2018 as compare to the year 1968.

If we deeply observes the chart ,we will conclude that usage of income on food is increased from 16% to 35% in year 2018. So, people spend a lot on their diet and nutrition intake. Another , interesting trend is observed that families need more leisure in their lifestyle as its percentage increase from 8% to 14% approximately. Household goods share the same percentage of weekly income in both years around 7%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the chart’s subject and attempts to compare the two years, but its account of the data is substantially inaccurate and incomplete. It says food spending rose from 16% to 35%, whereas the chart shows a fall from 35% in 1968 to 17% in 2018. The claim that spending on “every thing” increased is also contradicted by the figures: fuel and power, clothing, and personal goods all declined, while household goods stayed level. The leisure figures are misreported too, and the response omits key comparisons such as leisure becoming the largest category in 2018 and housing rising. To improve, give a clear overview of the main shifts and check each selected figure against the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, a general statement, and a final paragraph with selected details. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Another interesting trend” signal a new point. However, the progression is not consistently logical because the overview claims that all categories increased, then the details do not support that claim. The final paragraph also moves between food, leisure, and household goods without a clear comparison of the main patterns. Linking expressions are limited and sometimes awkwardly punctuated. Organise the body around the largest changes—for example, categories that rose versus those that fell—and use accurate comparisons to connect the points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

There is some range in the vocabulary, including “allocation of resources,” “nutrition intake,” and “percentage,” and the topic is generally understandable. However, several expressions are unnatural or imprecise for describing a chart, such as “different domestic units,” “daily usage,” and “need more leisure.” Repetition of broad terms such as “things” and “trend” also limits precision. Some word forms and collocations are inaccurate, including “every thing” and “quantity of allocation.” Use standard chart language and category names, such as “households,” “share of weekly expenditure,” and “spending on leisure.” More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons clearer and more appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a conditional-style opening to the final paragraph and clauses introduced by “that.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward. Examples include “If we deeply observes,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “a trend … is … increase,” which has an incorrect verb form. The comparison phrase “as compare to” is also grammatically faulty, and article, plural, and punctuation control is inconsistent, as in “in year 2018” and the spacing around commas. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and comparison structures, such as “rose from … to …” or “was higher than …,” while checking agreement and sentence punctuation.

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.