Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given bar graph summarizes the different scenerio of some families weekly expenditure in the year 1968 to 2018.

In thye year 1968 people utmost priority of weekly budget used to be food which covered 35 percantage of their income.Travel expense was their second investment and that was about 22 to 23 percent. Apart from these, the least expensive thing was fuel and power and personal goods, which were both under 5 percent of weekly ration.

On the other hand, compared to the former mentioned year, peoples biggest weekly expenditure coveres leisure as high priority list as over 21 percent of weekly budget during the year 2018.The change of habit is surprisingly dramatic as the food downgraded in 3rd rank over the years. The housing budget increased so much that in rose up to the 18 percent over the years compared to 1968 when it used to cover only 10 percent of the income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important contrasts, including food as the largest category in 1968 and leisure as the largest in 2018, and you note the rise in housing. However, the account is only partial and includes a major data error: transport was about 8% in 1968 and 14% in 2018, not 22–23% in 1968. The claim that fuel and personal goods were both under 5% also does not fit 1968, when they were about 6% and 8%. There is no clear overall summary of the main shifts across the chart, and several categories are omitted. Give an accurate overview first, then select and compare the most significant figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a generally understandable sequence: it describes 1968 first and then contrasts it with 2018, using signposts such as “On the other hand” and “compared to the former mentioned year.” This gives the reader a basic sense of progression. However, the opening is not developed into a clear overview, and the two main paragraphs do not consistently group or compare related categories. Some references, such as “these” and “the former mentioned year,” are awkward or less clear, while the final sentence adds housing information without a broader concluding comparison. Organise the response around an overview followed by selected comparisons, and use more direct links between the figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of vocabulary, including “priority,” “dramatic,” “downgraded,” and “compared,” but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing chart data. “Travel expense was their second investment” is misleading, and “food downgraded in 3rd rank” is an awkward way to describe its lower share. Spelling errors such as “scenerio,” “percantage,” and “thye” are noticeable, and phrases like “weekly ration” do not convey weekly income or spending clearly. These issues sometimes make the intended meaning harder to follow. Use precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “share,” “expenditure,” and “rose/fell to,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes some attempts at longer structures, for example “The change of habit is surprisingly dramatic as…” and “The housing budget increased so much that…,” but control is inconsistent. Several sentences have faulty or incomplete grammatical patterns: “In the year 1968 people utmost priority…” lacks a clear verb structure, while “in rose up to the 18 percent” contains an incorrect verb form and article use. There are also problems with agreement and sentence boundaries, as in “the least expensive thing was fuel and power and personal goods, which were…” The limited range and frequent errors can make parts difficult to interpret. Practise clear comparative sentence patterns and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb.

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