Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-16

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 graph compares the percentage of information about how familes in one country use their weekly earnings in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall , it is easily known from graph that people were spend more earnings before.Most income were used on Food and Leisure.

In 1968 , 35% of income was spend on food , which was the highest and it was drastically decreased in 2018 to 17%. 10% of salary were used on housing in 1968 , that was dramatically increased in 2018 by 8% compared to 1968. For both years 1968 and 2018 people spend the lowest on fuel and power , which was 6% and 4% subsequantly.In 1968 , 10% of income was used on clothing and footware , which dropped by half in 2018.

People spend 8% equally on household goods for both years and this percentage was same for spending on personal goods in 1968 , however , that was significantly decreased in 2018 to 4%.In 1968 , 8% of salaries expenditure was on transport , while , this was climbed to 14% in 2018.People spend the most in leisure in 2018 , that was 22% and that was only 9% in 1968.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main categories and make several accurate comparisons, including food falling from 35% to 17%, housing rising from 10% to 19%, and leisure increasing from 9% to 22%. You also identify household goods as unchanged. These details show a relevant response to the chart. However, the overview is unclear: “people were spend more earnings before” does not accurately summarise the overall pattern, and saying “Most income were used on Food and Leisure” blurs the contrast between the years. Food was the largest item in 1968, while leisure was largest in 2018. The claim that people spent the least on fuel and power in both years is also inaccurate for 1968, when personal goods and transport were lower. A clearer overview and more precise comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of data. It also groups several categories together, which helps the reader follow the comparisons. However, the progression is not consistently clear because the overview does not establish the main contrast, and the body moves from housing to fuel, clothing, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure without a clear grouping principle. Some linking is mechanical or awkward, as in “while, this was climbed” and “however, that was significantly decreased.” Punctuation spacing also interrupts the flow. Organise the details into clearer groups—for example, categories that rose, fell or stayed stable—and use concise, accurate links between comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “percentage,” “income,” “decreased,” “increased” and “dropped by half,” so the reader can understand most of the reported trends. There is also some attempt to vary wording rather than repeat “spent.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task: “percentage of information” should refer to spending, “weekly earnings” is less precise than weekly income, and “this was climbed” is not a natural collocation. “Dramatically” and “significantly” are repeated without adding much precision. Spelling errors such as “familes,” “footware” and “subsequantely” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise reporting verbs and natural collocations, and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including relative clauses such as “which was the highest” and contrastive structures using “while” and “however.” The main comparisons are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “people were spend,” “Most income were used,” and “10% of salary were used,” where verb forms or subject–verb agreement are incorrect. The sentence “that was dramatically increased in 2018 by 8%” also has an awkward passive construction, and several sentences have comma or spacing problems. These errors do not usually prevent the reader from understanding the figures, but they limit control. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and agreement, and proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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