Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The bar chart shows percentage of average weekly spending by families in 1968 and 2018. Families are speding % of weekly income on different needs and requirements of their daily life and shows how the spending of income have changed in 1968 and 2018.

In 1968, mostly weekly income was spent on food, housing, clothing and footware while small amount of the income was spent on fuel and power. In comparison to 2018, mostly weekly income was spent on leisure, housng and food while small amount was spent o personal goods, fuel, power, clothing and footware

In one hand, Highest % average of weekly income spent on food was 35% and on Leisure 22% in 1968 & 2018, respectively. Then 10% of weekly income in 1968 was spent on housing, 10% on clothing and footware whle in 2018, 19% of the weekly income was spent on housing, which is higher spending on housing than in 1968, and 17% was spent on food which is less than 1968

On the other hand, least contribution of % weekly income in 1968 goes goes to fuel an power, which is 6% while in 2018, 4% was the least spending that was made on personal goods and 4% on fuel and power.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and report several important figures accurately, including food at 35% in 1968, leisure at 22% in 2018, and housing at 10% and 19% respectively. You also note the broad shift away from food towards leisure and housing. However, the overview is not sufficiently clear or complete: the opening mainly restates the task, and the main comparisons are mixed into later paragraphs. Some key features, such as transport rising from 8% to 14% and clothing falling from 10% to 5%, are omitted. The statement that food, housing and clothing were the main 1968 categories is also imprecise, since food was markedly higher than the others. A clearer overview and more selective comparisons would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to broad comparisons and then to figures for each year. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “In comparison” and “On the other hand” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression is not always clear: the second paragraph repeats general information, while the later paragraphs return to categories without a consistent comparison pattern. “In one hand” is an inaccurate linking phrase, and the contrast signalled by “On the other hand” is not clearly developed. Grouping categories by whether they rose, fell or stayed similar, and using more precise links between those groups, would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “weekly income,” “spent,” and “in comparison,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “small amount of the income” and “least contribution of % weekly income.” There are also noticeable spelling errors in “speding,” “housng,” “footware,” and “whle,” which reduce accuracy. Some phrases, including “daily life and shows how the spending of income have changed,” are awkward and do not express the data naturally. Aim for concise reporting language and accurate category names; for example, describe a category’s share as “accounted for” a percentage or say that spending “rose” or “fell.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with comparisons, but control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “Families are speding % of weekly income … and shows” has a subject–verb agreement problem and an incomplete construction, while “the spending of income have changed” has incorrect agreement. The sentence beginning “In one hand” also lacks a well-formed comparison structure, and “least contribution … goes goes” contains repetition and an unclear tense. Use shorter, complete sentences when reporting figures, and check agreement, articles and verb forms. More accurate sentence patterns such as “Food accounted for 35% in 1968, compared with 17% in 2018” would improve clarity.

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