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 below gives information about how families spent their weekly income in one country in both years 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is clear that food had the highest figures, while, fuel and power recorded the lowest figures. Furthermore, percentage slightly decrease in 2018 from 1968 or difference can be observed in the bar chart.

The families spent the highest of income on food in 1968 around 35% and on housing 10%. While, fuel and power approximately 6%, clothing and footware around 10% and household goods 8%. Personal goods and transport shows the same figure approximately 8%, leisure represents minimum 9%.

However, in 2018 families spent the income on food 17% and housing shows around 19%. While, fuel and power 4%, clothing and footware only 5% and household goods maximum 7%. While, personal goods shows only 4%, transport maximum 14% and leisure represents the 22%. The highest percentage shows in the bar chart is food in 1968 and fuel and power recorded the lowest percentage in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and include figures for all eight spending categories in both years, so the response is relevant and gives the reader a useful amount of detail. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: food was the largest category in 1968, but leisure—not food—was largest in 2018. The statement that food had the highest figures overall therefore misses the main change. Some comparisons are also imprecise: household goods stayed at about 8%, rather than reaching a maximum of 7% in 2018, and the claim that percentages “slightly decrease” does not describe the mixed pattern. Make the overview state the major shifts clearly, then select accurate comparisons to support it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the two years. This makes the information reasonably easy to locate. However, progression is limited because the body largely lists categories in sequence rather than grouping the most important rises, falls, and stable figures. Several sentences begin with “While,” including fragments such as “While, fuel and power approximately 6%,” and repeated “However” and “Furthermore” do not always show a clear relationship between ideas. The final sentence also repeats the overview rather than adding a useful comparison. Organise the body around contrasting trends—for example, falling food spending versus rising leisure and housing—and use linking words only where their meaning is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “approximately,” “recorded,” and “represents,” and the category names generally make the data understandable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or unnatural, such as “spent the income on food” and “the highest percentage shows.” “Maximum” is also used where “about” or “stood at” would be more suitable for reporting a figure, and “footware” is misspelled; the chart label is “footwear.” These choices sometimes make the comparisons less precise, though the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Aim for accurate reporting verbs and collocations, and vary them without forcing formal-sounding words into the wrong context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer structures, including “Overall, it is clear that…” and sentences contrasting the two years, but control is inconsistent. Several clauses are incomplete: “While, fuel and power approximately 6%” has no main verb, and “Personal goods and transport shows the same figure” has a subject–verb agreement error. Other examples include “percentage slightly decrease,” which lacks an appropriate article and has incorrect verb agreement, and “food 17%,” where the relationship between the category and figure needs a verb. Commas after “While” also disrupt sentence structure. Use complete clauses with clear subjects and verbs, and check agreement and tense; for example, “Fuel and power accounted for approximately 6% in 1968.”

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