Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-14

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 5.0)

THE CHART ILLUSTRATES THAT ,HOW FAMILIES IN ONE COUNTRY SPENT THEIR WEEKLY INCOME IN 1968 AND IN 2018. OVERALL, IN 1968 PEOPLE USED HIGH PART OF THEIR INCOME ON FOOD, PERSONAILITY DEVELOPMENT ,FUEL AND ENERGY IN CONTRAST WITH PEOPLE IN 2018. IT DEPICTS THAT HUMANS SPENT ALOT OF MONEY IN LEISURE ACTIVITIES,TRANSPORT AND HOUSING IN 2018. MEANWHILE INDIVIDUAL SPENDING ON HOUSEHOLD GOODS REMAIN SAME IN 1968 OR IN 2018. INITIALLY IN 1968 PEOPLE SPENT 35 PERCENTAGE OF THEIR WEEKLY INCOME ON MEAL, 10 PERCENT ON HOUSING,7 PERCENT ON FUEL AND POWER,10 PERCENT ON CLOTHING AND FOOTWARE ,8 PERCENT IN PERSONAL ,TRANSPORT AND HOUSEHOLD ,GOODS AND 9 PERCENTAGE ON REFRESHMENT .IN 2018 PEOPLE SPENT 17 PERCENT ON MEAL 19 PERCENT IN HOUSING,4 PERCENT IN FUELAND PWER,PERSONAL GOODS, 5 PERCENTAGE ON CLOTHING AND FOOTWARE, 8 PERCENTAGE ON HOUSEHOLD GOODS,14 PERCENTAGE ON TRANSPORT AND 22 PERCENTAGE ON LEASIURE.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and include figures for both years, with relevant comparisons such as food falling from 35% to 17% and leisure rising to 22%. You also note that household-goods spending stayed at 8%. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: “personal development” is not a category, and fuel spending was not high in 1968 compared with the main categories. The report also mislabels leisure as “refreshment” in 1968 and omits its 9% figure, while the 2018 figure for personal goods (4%) is not clearly stated. The response contains 132 words, below the required 150, so the account is underdeveloped. Select the main contrasts accurately and explain them in a fuller overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction and overview are followed by figures for 1968 and then 2018. This gives the reader some organisation, and “Overall” and “Meanwhile” signal relationships between ideas. However, the whole response is presented as one paragraph, so the overview and supporting details are not clearly separated. The long final sentence lists many categories without clear punctuation or grouping, making comparisons difficult to follow. Some linking is also awkward, as in “in contrast with people in 2018.” Use separate paragraphs for the overview and details, and group the largest increases and decreases rather than listing every figure in a single run-on sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant terms, including “weekly income,” “housing,” “fuel and power,” and “household goods,” and you attempt to describe changes with “in contrast” and “remain same.” However, vocabulary is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural. “Personal development” does not match the chart’s “personal goods,” “meal” is less suitable than “food” for this category, and “refreshment” incorrectly replaces leisure. There are also spelling errors such as “footware,” “pwer,” and “leasiure,” alongside informal forms such as “alot.” Use the chart’s category labels consistently and choose precise verbs such as “accounted for,” “rose,” and “fell” to describe the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the reader can generally identify the years and figures being discussed. However, the range is limited, and frequent errors in sentence construction and punctuation make parts difficult to read. The opening, “THE CHART ILLUSTRATES THAT ,HOW…,” has an unnecessary comma and an incorrect clause structure. In “household goods remain same,” the verb form and article are missing, while “people spent 19 percent in housing” uses an unsuitable preposition within the sentence pattern. The final list also lacks sentence boundaries and consistent punctuation. Practise accurate comparative structures, for example, “Spending on food fell from 35% to 17%,” and use full stops to separate the two years’ figures.

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.