Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-12

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 4.5)

This graph illustrates how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and 2018.

In 1968, Families spent mostly income for food as compared to at that moment. While, now a days people spent 18% of their income in housing which is more then the people from recent decades.Fuel and power are the most essential part from 1968 to still now so their is not alo of difference but still fuel and power consumed more in previous decades.Clothing and footwear are the need of every century but decade ago the consuption of both is more then now.Household goods are on the same point because both are the substantial part.Personal good are more used in 1968 around 16% and now it dropped by 12%.Early people more used transport more then people from 1968, it usually increased by 6%.Leisure is most used in early century instead of previous century , it incresed by 15%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s topic and mention several categories, but the response reports key figures inaccurately and does not provide a clear overview of the main changes. For example, personal goods were about 8% in 1968 and 4% in 2018, not 16% followed by a 12% drop; leisure rose from about 9% to 22%, rather than increasing by 15%. The statement that transport was used more by “early people” also reverses the comparison: its share increased from 8% to 14% by 2018. The response is 142 words, below the 150-word minimum; the 12 words copied from the prompt were not counted. Add an accurate overview and select a few reliable comparisons to develop.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

The response follows the chart’s categories in a roughly recognisable sequence, so the reader can see that you are comparing the two years. However, it is presented as one long paragraph, with no distinct overview or grouping of related information. Several transitions are confusing, such as “Early people more used transport more then people from 1968,” which makes the time comparison difficult to follow. The repeated use of “while,” “but,” and “because” does not consistently show the relationship between ideas, and some sentences run together. Organise the report into an introduction, an overview, and one or two paragraphs of comparisons; use clear time references and linking phrases to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “fuel and power,” “household goods,” and “increased,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear: “spent mostly income for food,” “on the same point,” and “most used” are not natural ways to describe proportions. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “consuption,” “incresed,” and “footwear” misspelled in the response. Use precise terms for shares and changes, such as “accounted for,” “rose,” and “fell,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts some longer sentence forms, including contrasts with “while” and “but,” but control is inconsistent and many sentences contain errors that make comparisons hard to interpret. For example, “Families spent mostly income for food as compared to at that moment” has an unclear comparison structure, while “their is not alo of difference” contains an agreement error and an unclear clause. Tense and sentence construction also shift in “now a days people spent” and “it usually increased by 6%.” Use straightforward, complete sentences with a consistent past tense for the two years, and check subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation. Clearer sentence boundaries would make the data easier to understand.

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