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 graph illustrates, how much families spent their weekly expense on different things in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, in 1968, people spent more on food compared to other things including housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure. Conversely, in 2018, families spent more on leisure and then housing after that.

In 1968, families spent around 35% on food, while just above 15%, in 2018. Spending on housing was around 10% in 1968 and around 20% in 2018.

Families spent significantly less on fuel and power. These the least spending things each around 5% in both years. Families expenditure on clothing was double in 1968, compared to 2018, which was half around 5%. Families spent same amount of money on households and good around 8%.

Families spent almost same percentage of weekly sending around 9% on Personal goods transport and leisure in 1986 while, it faces a significant rose from 4% to around 20% each respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure and housing were the leading items in 2018. Several figures are also reported accurately, including food at about 35% in 1968 and housing rising from roughly 10% to 19%. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate. Fuel and power was about 6% and 4%, not around 5% in both years, and the final sentence misstates the year as 1986 and makes it difficult to tell which categories rose from 4% to around 20%. Leisure rose from about 9% to 22%, whereas personal goods fell from 8% to 4%. More precise reporting of these changes and a clearer overview would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by details, and the paragraphs broadly group the information by category. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Conversely,” and “while” help signal comparisons. However, progression becomes difficult to follow in the final paragraph: “it faces a significant rose from 4% to around 20% each respectively” does not clearly identify the categories or years being compared. The phrase “These the least spending things” also interrupts the flow. Some comparisons are packed into long sentences, while the repeated opening “Families spent” makes the account feel list-like. Use clearer topic grouping and explicit references to each year and category to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “spent,” “compared to,” “significantly less,” and “percentage,” so the topic is generally clear. There is some attempt to vary expression through “expenditure” and “rose,” but several word-choice and spelling problems reduce precision. “Weekly expense” is not a natural way to describe the chart, “weekly sending” appears to be an incorrect word, and “households and good” obscures the intended category, household goods. The chart label is “clothing and footwear,” rather than “footware.” Aim for accurate category names and natural collocations, and avoid using “spent” repeatedly by choosing precise alternatives such as “accounted for” or “represented.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes some attempts at complex sentences, for example, “In 1968, families spent around 35% on food, while just above 15%, in 2018.” However, this comparison is grammatically incomplete because the second clause has no verb, and the comma placement makes it harder to read. Other errors occur in “These the least spending things” and “it faces a significant rose,” where sentence structure and verb forms are faulty. The final sentence also combines several comparisons without a clear grammatical framework. Most sentences rely on simple patterns, and errors sometimes impede understanding. Practise complete comparative clauses, accurate verb forms, and punctuation; for example, “Food accounted for 35% in 1968, compared with about 17% in 2018.”

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.