Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-13

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 compares the data about how families in one country spent their weekly earnings in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, in 1968 people spent significant amount of their earning on food.However it dropped by the year 2018. In addition to that their expenditure of household goods was reamined exactly same for both years. in 2018 the spendings were consequently higher for leisure which is way higher than the year 1968.

Firstly, citizens spent a huge percentage of their money in food which was accounted for 35% of total. On the other hand, in 2018 people spend consiquently less on food as it was around 17%. While the spendings on housing was a way lower(10%) in 1968 it reached approximately 18% by the year 2018. Secondly, the spendings of fuel and power remained the least for the both years.

Moreover, the expenses on the household goods remained same. Afterwards the expenditure on personal goods was at 8% in 1998 and only 3% in 2018. Furthermore, the spedings on transport rose as it was 7% in 1968 became 14% in 2018. Similarly, the expenses of leisure also jumped from 8% to 22%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast between the years: food takes a much smaller share in 2018, while leisure and housing take larger shares. You also report several relevant figures, including food at 35% and 17%, and leisure rising to 22%. However, some details are inaccurate: personal goods are given as 8% in “1998” rather than 1968, and the chart shows 4% in 2018, not 3%. Fuel and power is not the lowest category in both years: clothing and footwear is also low, and personal goods is lower in 2018. The overview is relevant but could more clearly summarise the largest changes and the categories that stayed stable. More precise reporting and a fuller overview would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the information is generally grouped by spending category. This gives the reader a basic route through the comparison. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven: “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “Moreover,” “Afterwards” and “Furthermore” sometimes make the report feel like a list rather than a connected comparison. “Afterwards” is especially unsuitable because the categories are not events occurring in sequence. There are also awkward transitions, such as “While the spendings on housing…” followed by a separate point about fuel. Use fewer, more precise linking expressions and organise details into clear comparisons between the two years to make cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “expenditure,” “percentage,” “accounted for,” “remained” and “rose.” These choices help communicate the main comparisons. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive: “significant amount of their earning,” “spendings,” and “the spendings of fuel and power remained the least” are not natural ways to describe chart data. Spelling errors such as “reamined,” “consiquently” and “spedings” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, conventional expressions such as “share of weekly income,” “spending on,” and “accounted for the smallest proportion.” This would make the vocabulary more controlled and appropriate to an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “While” and sentences with “as” and “which.” The main comparisons are usually understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “people spent significant amount” needs an article, and “their earning” should be plural or expressed as “income.” In “in 2018 people spend,” the past-tense form is needed; “the spendings … was” also has a subject–verb agreement problem. Punctuation and spacing need attention, particularly the missing space after “food.” and the inconsistent capitalisation after full stops. Check articles, tense consistency and agreement when editing; greater accuracy in these areas would make your varied sentence attempts clearer.

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