Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

This bar chart compares that how the weekly amount earned by people in the same country is spent in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, most of the percentage is consumed by food and housing while fuel and power demanded the least.

Moreover, housing and leisure activities increased thes cost in 2018 as compared to 1968.

in 1968, a huge portion of earnings which is35% of the amount is spent on food leadinh housing and clothing expenses to be managed in 10%each. moreover, fuel and power , transport and lesirue activities get under v10%.

on the other hand , in 2018, accomadation and lesure rose dramatically , while food and persinal goods costs fell down sharply to under 5%. expenditure on househol goods reamined same and didnt fluctuated.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give an overview, noting that food and housing account for large shares and that housing and leisure rise. You also report several relevant figures, including food at 35% in 1968 and housing and clothing at 10%. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: fuel and power, not housing, is the smallest category in 2018 at 4%, and personal goods falls to 4%, rather than “under 5%” being a clear comparison of both food and personal goods. The chart shows food falling to 17%, not below 5%. The response is also below the required 150 words, limiting the detail and comparisons provided. Include the main changes across categories and state the figures precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate comments on 1968 and 2018. This helps the reader recognise the two time periods being compared. However, progression within the body is limited, and the comparisons are not consistently organised by category or by the most important changes. Linking phrases such as “Moreover” and “on the other hand” are used, but the relationship between some statements is unclear; for example, the overview says fuel and power demanded the least without specifying the year. Several long strings of information are difficult to follow. Group the largest increases and decreases, use clear comparison sentences, and punctuate transitions consistently to make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a chart, including “percentage,” “rose dramatically,” “fell,” and “remained same,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “weekly amount earned … is spent,” “costs fell down,” and “expenditure … didn’t fluctuated.” Spelling errors—including “leadinh,” “lesirue,” “accomadation,” “persinal,” and “reamined”—are noticeable and sometimes make reading harder. Use precise terms such as “share of weekly income,” “accounted for,” and “declined,” and check spelling carefully. Avoid repeating broad words like “cost” when “spending” or “expenditure” is more appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few different sentence forms, including an overview with “while” and a contrast introduced by “on the other hand.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “This bar chart compares that how” has an incorrect clause structure, while “housing and clothing expenses to be managed in 10% each” lacks a clear finite verb. In “expenditure … remained same and didn’t fluctuated,” the verb form after “didn’t” is incorrect. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, particularly at the start of sentences and around commas. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check tense, articles, and punctuation before finishing.

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