Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 given illustrates data about the percentage of weekly income spent by different families in one country between the year of 1968 and 2018.The numbers given are categorised on the basis of food, housing, fuel, clothings, household and perrsonal items, transport and leisure.

Overall,in the intial years the percentage of weekly income spent on food was the highest, whereas the spending on fuel and power was the lowest. Compared to Lesiure where the spending of weekly income was the highest in last year, while the least percentage of weekly income was spent on personal goods.

In the year of 1968 the percentage of weekly income spent on food was at peak with 35%. It was followed by housing and clothing including footware which shared the same percentage of weekly earnings spent with 10%.Whereas the requirement of fuel and power was least in 1968 as the spending on it was least close to 6%.Compared to 2018 spending on food was 17% as it is daily necessity. Followed by housing on which 19% of wekly earnings is spent. Percentage of weekly earnings spent on fuel and power, clothing and footware was less than before in 1968.

The percentage of weekly income spent on household goods was same both in the year 1968 and 2018 with 18%. Whereas the percentage of earnings spent on personal goods were much higher before comapred to in 2018 with 4% decrease. As travelling now for school or job is common the percentage spent on transport was higher in 2018 with 14%. The highest percentage of spending was in 2018 with 22%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast accurately: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure was largest in 2018, and you report several relevant figures. However, some data are misreported or unclear. Household goods were 8% in both years, not 18%, and personal-goods spending fell from 8% to 4%; this is a four-percentage-point decrease, rather than simply “4% decrease.” The overview also says fuel and power was the lowest category in 1968, but transport and household goods were lower than clothing and housing, and fuel was 6%. Your coverage is relevant, but the comparisons for several categories are underdeveloped. A more precise overview and accurate reporting of the smaller categories would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and it generally moves from the earlier year to the later one. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven: the final paragraph moves from household and personal goods to transport and then leisure without a clear comparison pattern. Linking phrases such as “Compared to” and “Whereas” are sometimes used awkwardly or leave the relationship between ideas unclear. For example, “Compared to 2018 spending on food was 17%” does not clearly establish the comparison. Grouping the categories by increases, decreases and unchanged figures, and using more precise links, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “weekly income,” “spent,” and “shared the same percentage,” so the topic is generally clear. There is also some attempt to vary expression with phrases such as “was at peak” and “earnings.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “the requirement of fuel and power,” “spending ... was least close to 6%,” and “the highest percentage of spending was in 2018.” Spelling errors such as “intial,” “Lesiure,” “perrsonal,” and “comapred” are noticeable. Use standard category names and concise reporting verbs, and check spelling carefully; this would make the vocabulary more precise and easier to read.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “whereas” and “as,” and most of the intended comparisons can be understood. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in sentence boundaries, articles and sentence construction. For instance, there is no space after the full stop in “2018.The,” and “Compared to Lesiure where the spending ...” is an incomplete and awkwardly connected construction. The sentence beginning “Compared to 2018 spending on food...” also lacks a clear grammatical comparison. Tense and agreement are not consistently controlled, as in “the percentage ... were much higher.” Aim for complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and punctuate comparisons so that each relationship is explicit.

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