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 chart illustrates the proportion of how weekly salary spent by families in a country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, the families that most significantly spent on food over the period in 1968, while, in 2018 housing recorded the highest spent the income. Whereas, fuel and power notable the least income spent in both the years.

In 1968, the food experienced the highest percentage in salary invest at 35% but decreased sharply in 2018 to 16%, the percentage of housing, clothing and footware spent equally at 10% while, in 2018, housing increased steadily to 19%.

Additionally, household goods, personal goods and transport allocate similarly at 8% roughly but in 2018, housing recorded equal spent as 1968 and personal good experienced fall gradually to 3% and transport rose to 9% , where, leisure experienced 9% of income spent but in 2018, it rose significantly to 22%. In contrast, the fuel and power recorded at 6 % and in 2018, 3% approximetaly, while in both the years fueal and power spent low in there salaries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s main contrast: food takes the largest share in 1968, while leisure and housing are prominent in 2018, and you note that fuel and power is among the smallest categories in both years. Several figures are also reported accurately, including food at 35%, housing at 10% in 1968 and 19% in 2018, and leisure rising to 22%. However, the overview is unclear and does not mention that transport also increased substantially, from about 8% to 14%. Some details are inaccurate: transport is given as 9% rather than 14% in 2018, and household goods remained at about 8%, not housing. A clearer overview and more reliable comparisons would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and it groups several categories together. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is difficult to follow because several comparisons are packed into long sentences, especially the paragraph beginning “Additionally”. Linking words such as “while”, “whereas” and “in contrast” are sometimes used without a clear relationship between the ideas, and the final point repeats the earlier observation about fuel and power. Use shorter sentences, organise the figures into clear groups of increases and decreases, and make each comparison explicit to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of chart-related vocabulary, including “proportion”, “decreased sharply”, “increased steadily” and “rose significantly”. These choices show an effort to describe change rather than simply list figures. However, several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “salary invest”, “highest spent the income” and “allocate similarly”, which make some comparisons harder to understand. There are also spelling errors, including “footware”, “approximetaly” and “fueal”, and repeated use of “spent” where “share” or “accounted for” would be more suitable. Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling carefully; this will make the limited range more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while” and “whereas”. However, control is inconsistent, and some sentence structures make the meaning unclear. For example, “the families that most significantly spent on food” lacks a clear grammatical construction, while “fuel and power notable the least income spent” is missing a finite verb. In “the percentage of housing, clothing and footware spent equally at 10%”, the subject and verb do not form a clear sentence. Several sentences also run on, with commas joining multiple independent ideas. Build each sentence around a clear subject and verb, and use full stops to separate comparisons.

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