Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The bar graph shows that information about the how residents of one nation spent their weekly earning in 1968 and in 2018. Income is measured in terms of percentage.

Overall, what stands out from the graph is that food was the highest spending category in 2018, while leisure things is the highest rank in 1968.

looking at the details, as regards in 1968, leisure expenditures recorded around above 20%. Additionally, housing stated second rank because of the percentage is weekly expenditures was less than leisure thing. Another ineresting thing is that Fuel and power or Personal goods have accounted less than 5% of the weekly income spendings.

In 2018, Food is the first priority of the every family to spent alot of their weekly income and is recorded figured was 30%. However, Clothing and footwear was the stated on the 2nd important hing for residents of the nation to spent their life with around 10% of the weekly earning. And, Fuel and power had recorded least perecntage around above 10% of weekly income spent on it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response attempts to describe the chart and includes an overview, but its central comparisons are substantially inaccurate, so the main features are not reliably reported. The overview says leisure was the highest category in 1968, whereas food was highest at about 35%; leisure was only about 9%. It also says food was highest in 2018, although leisure was highest at about 22%, with food around 17%. Several further figures are misread: 2018 clothing was about 5%, not 10%, and fuel and power was about 4%, not above 10%. The claim that fuel and personal goods were below 5% in 1968 is also incorrect. Select the true peaks and major rises or falls, then support them with accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the two years. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In 2018” signal the intended stages. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is weak: comparisons are not consistently ordered, and some statements are difficult to follow, such as “housing stated second rank because of the percentage is weekly expenditures was less than leisure thing.” Linking words including “Additionally,” “Another interesting thing,” and “However” are used, but they do not always clarify the relationship between ideas. Group the most important categories and changes logically, and use concise comparisons rather than loosely connected claims.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

There is some task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “weekly income,” “expenditures,” and “recorded,” and the writer attempts to vary expressions for spending. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the meaning unclear. Examples include “weekly earning,” “leisure things,” “housing stated second rank,” and “the first priority of the every family.” Spelling errors such as “ineresting,” “footwear” (the chart label is “footwear,” but the response also has “hing”), and “perecntage” further reduce control. Use standard chart language consistently—for example, “accounted for,” “was the largest category,” and “rose/fell to”—and check spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses some simple sentences and attempts longer structures, but control is uneven, particularly in the more complex sentences. Errors in sentence construction and agreement appear in examples such as “housing stated second rank because of the percentage is weekly expenditures was less than leisure thing” and “Food is the first priority of the every family to spent.” There are also problems with articles, verb forms, and number agreement, as in “the how residents” and “Fuel and power had recorded least percentage.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas hard to understand. Practise building clear subject–verb sentences, use past tense consistently for the historical data, and proofread articles and verb forms.

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.