Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-15

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 shows information about 8 stages how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, there are eight stages, which has increased and decreased in different year. It was begins with food and ends with leisure. Food was the highest and the lowest was fuel and power.

Firstly, food was 35% in 1968, which was the highest and the lowest was fuel and power. During the year 1968, housing and clothing and footware were similar that was 10%. Household goods, personal goods and transport has equal percentage of weekly that is 7%. Following leisure has 9% is more uses.

Finally, after 1968, there was lot of change. In 2018, food has decreased by 18% that is 17%. Nowadays, housing, leisure and transport has become there weekly income where they has 10%, 22% and 19%. And least important are fuel and power, clothing and footwear.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two years and report several relevant figures, including food at 35% in 1968 and 17% in 2018, and leisure at 22% in 2018. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “Food was the highest and the lowest was fuel and power” does not distinguish the years, and fuel and power was not the lowest category in 1968. Some figures are also misreported: household goods, personal goods and transport were each 8% in 1968, not 7%; housing and transport were 19% in 2018, not 10% and 19% respectively. The response is 13 words below the 150-word minimum, limiting the detail provided. Add a clear overview and accurately compare the main rises and falls across both years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs beginning “Firstly” and “Finally.” This gives the reader some organisation, and the chronological division between 1968 and 2018 is potentially useful. However, progression is not consistently clear. The overview repeats that there are eight categories and says they “begins with food and ends with leisure,” which does not explain the main comparisons. Linking phrases such as “Following” and “And” do not always show how the information relates, while several figures are crowded into one sentence. Group the categories by notable changes—for example, falling food expenditure versus rising leisure, housing and transport—and use clear references to each year.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “decreased,” “highest,” and “percentage,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended comparison difficult to follow. “Eight stages” is not the right term for the chart’s categories, and “housing, leisure and transport has become there weekly income” does not clearly express that these categories took larger shares of spending. There are also spelling inconsistencies in “footware” and “footwear.” Aim for precise terms such as “categories,” “accounted for,” and “share of weekly expenditure,” and check spelling and collocations before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt some longer sentences, including “Food was 35% in 1968, which was the highest,” and use basic past-tense reporting. However, the range remains limited, and frequent errors in verb forms and agreement make several sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “there are eight stages, which has increased and decreased” has an agreement problem and an unclear subject; “It was begins” combines incompatible verb forms; and “housing, leisure and transport has become” does not agree with its plural subject. Tense also shifts between past and present when describing the chart. Practise consistent past-tense comparisons and simple, accurate structures, then check subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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