Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-11

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 provides data about how families in a particular country spent their weekly earning in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, the pattern of households' expenditure experienced a major shift during the time period. Before the basic comodeties had the largest share of expenses, such as food, clothing and housing, which changed in 2018, people spent significant amount in entertainments and leisure activities than before.

In 1968, families spent 35% of their income for purchasing food, and nearly 20 percent of their income was used for housing and clothing purpose. Other basic sectors such as, fuel and power, household goods and personal goods were only 30 percent, and rest was spent in transport and leisure.

This pattern shifted in 2018, whereas, total spending on food decli

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s broad message as a shift in spending and correctly report that food accounted for 35% in 1968. However, the response is incomplete: it ends mid-word at “food decli”, so the 2018 comparison is not actually reported, and several figures are inaccurate or unclear. For example, “nearly 20 percent” for housing and clothing does not match their combined 20% if intended, while “Other basic sectors … were only 30 percent” misrepresents the listed categories. The overview also overstates the change by suggesting leisure and entertainment became the main spending area without giving the key 2018 figures. The response is 23 words below the required minimum. To improve, complete the comparison and accurately highlight leisure, housing, and food as the largest 2018 categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs beginning with “In 1968” and “This pattern shifted in 2018.” This gives the reader a basic chronological route through the data. However, progression is weakened because the final paragraph stops after “food decli”, leaving the comparison unfinished, and the overview’s claims are not clearly connected to supporting figures. Some linking is awkward or inaccurate, particularly “Before … which changed in 2018” and “whereas,” at the start of the final paragraph. The phrase “Other basic sectors … and rest” also makes the grouping and relationship between categories difficult to follow. Use complete paragraphs, organise the figures by the main contrasts, and connect each overview point to precise evidence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “expenditure,” “share of expenses,” “income,” and “pattern … shifted,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “significant amount” and “basic sectors.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “weekly earning” is less suitable than “weekly income,” “spent … for purchasing food” is awkward, and “entertainments” is not the natural form in this context. “Comodeties” is misspelled, and “clothing purpose” is imprecise. These errors do not prevent the general topic from being understood, but they reduce precision. Aim for standard collocations used to describe charts, such as “accounted for,” “spending on,” and “share of weekly income.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including the overview sentence with “which changed in 2018” and the contrast introduced by “This pattern shifted in 2018.” The opening sentence is also grammatically clear. However, some sentence structures are faulty or incomplete. “Before the basic comodeties had the largest share …, which changed in 2018” lacks a clear grammatical connection between the time reference and the main clause. In “Other basic sectors such as, fuel and power … were only 30 percent,” the punctuation disrupts the sentence, and the total is not clearly attached to the categories. The final sentence is unfinished, so it cannot convey a complete comparison. Work on complete clauses, accurate subordination, and punctuation around examples; then proofread to ensure every sentence has a finished main idea.

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.