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)

The given chart illustrate The information about families one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and 2018. Overall it is clear that food was increast in 1968 .In 2018 decline income in personal goods and fuel and power.The similar in comae was household goods.

In the contex of 1968 food was highest weekly income at around 35 %.The housing and clothing footware at around 10 %. The household goods ,personal good and transport at around 7%.The leisure was at around 9 %.The lowest weekly income was fuel and power.

In the context of 2018 leisure was a peak of at around 23%.The housing was at around 19 %.and food was at around 16 %. The fall weekly income was fuel power and personal goods at around 4 %.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and report several relevant figures, including food at about 35% in 1968 and leisure at roughly 23% in 2018. However, the overview is unclear and includes a major trend error: food did not increase in 1968; its share fell from about 35% to 17%. You also say personal goods and fuel declined in 2018 without making the comparison explicit. Several figures are inaccurate or incomplete: household goods stayed at 8%, while transport rose from 8% to 14%, and the lowest 1968 category was fuel and power at 6%. The response is 120 words, below the required 150, and this limits coverage. Add a clear overview and compare the main rises and falls accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an opening and overview are followed by separate paragraphs for 1968 and 2018. This gives the reader some way to follow the information, and the time-based grouping is appropriate. However, progression is limited because the overview is difficult to interpret and the body paragraphs mostly list categories rather than organise comparisons. Linking is sparse, and punctuation such as the full stops before “The housing” and “and food” interrupts the flow. Some connections are also unclear, for example “The similar in comae was household goods.” To improve, use a concise overview, then group the largest changes together and use clear comparison links such as “whereas,” “by contrast,” and “remained stable.”

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “highest,” “lowest,” and “around,” so the chart’s general subject is recognisable. However, the range is basic and several word choices or forms make the meaning difficult to understand. Examples include “food was increast,” “The fall weekly income,” and “The similar in comae.” Category names are also inconsistently rendered, such as “personal good” and “fuel power”; accurate labels matter when reporting chart data. Spelling errors such as “increast,” “contex,” and “footware” further reduce clarity. Build a small set of precise trend expressions and use the chart’s category labels consistently, for example “accounted for,” “rose,” “fell,” and “remained unchanged.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

There are attempts to form an overview and to describe the two years, but most sentences rely on short, simple patterns, and frequent grammatical errors sometimes obscure the intended meaning. For example, “The given chart illustrate The information” has subject–verb agreement and sentence-boundary problems, while “The housing was at around 19%” lacks a clear grammatical relationship between housing and the percentage. Articles, plurals, and verb forms are also inconsistent, as in “personal good” and “food was increast.” Punctuation and spacing are irregular, making sentence boundaries hard to identify. Practise complete comparative sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “Food accounted for 35% in 1968, compared with 17% in 2018,” and check agreement and punctuation.

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