Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 given bar chart compares the how families in one country spent their weekly payout in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, it is clear that food and housing recorded the highest figures, while fuel and power and household goods.had the lowest. There were a considerable difference between the leisure and housing.

Looking first at the highest figures, in 1968 food recorded approximately 17% and in 2018 35%. Household goods remained constant throughout the period. Fuel had the highest proportion, followed by little smaller in 2018 around at 3%. Perononal goods rose and then drastically declined in next year.

By contrast, leisure recorded a considerably lower figure, with a difference of 16 percentage points between the two years. Spending on transport accounted for 8% of families’ weekly income in the initial year, rising to 22% in 2018. Meanwhile, families spent a higher proportion of their weekly income on clothing and footwear in the earlier year, but this figure subsequently declined to 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response attempts an overview and selects several relevant categories, but key figures and trends are repeatedly misreported, which makes the account only partially accurate. Most importantly, food fell from about 35% in 1968 to 17% in 2018, whereas you reverse these values. You also say transport rose to 22%, but it reached about 14%; leisure rose to 22%, rather than being lower, and fuel and power declined from 6% to 4%. The overview that food and housing were the highest categories is not accurate for both years, and the claim that fuel and household goods were the lowest overlooks other low categories. Check each bar against the chart and build the overview around the largest increases and decreases.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of comparisons. Phrases such as “Looking first” and “By contrast” help signal movement between points, and the final paragraph groups several categories together. However, the progression is weakened because the overview is unclear and some details are placed under misleading headings: the paragraph about “the highest figures” includes inaccurate statements about fuel and personal goods. The comparison between leisure and housing is mentioned without explaining the relevant figures. Organise the body around clear contrasts—such as categories that rose versus those that fell—and use linking phrases only when the relationship is accurate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some suitable chart language, including “recorded,” “accounted for,” “remained constant,” and “percentage points,” which helps convey comparisons. There is also some variety in describing change, such as “rising” and “declined.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear: “weekly payout” is less appropriate than “weekly income,” “followed by little smaller” is difficult to interpret, and “drastically declined in next year” does not clearly describe the period. Spelling errors such as “Perononal” and “footware” also reduce precision. Aim for accurate, conventional expressions such as “accounted for the largest share” and “fell from … to …,” and proofread category names.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes a mix of simple statements and more developed comparisons, for example, “Meanwhile, families spent a higher proportion … in the earlier year, but this figure subsequently declined to 5%.” This shows an attempt to use subordinate clauses and contrast. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation are noticeable. “There were a considerable difference” has incorrect agreement, while “household goods.had” contains faulty punctuation and spacing. The sentence beginning “Fuel had the highest proportion, followed by little smaller…” is grammatically incomplete, and “in next year” lacks an article. Work on agreement, articles, and complete sentence patterns, then check punctuation between clauses. These corrections would make the comparisons easier to follow.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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