Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-20

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)

In the chart below is shown that families in one country tend to spend their weekly income relatively the same in both years presented, such as the two main categories, food and housing.

For instance, at the feature about food, there is a drastic decrease in spending money from 1968 to 2018. In the other hand, money that families are spending on housing stand in contrast with the previous category, likewise in 2018 the amount of spends is closely doubled compared to 1968.

Also, clothing and footware, to be precise, were exactly doubled in 1968 compared to 2018.

The fuel and power, show a light decrease between this period of time.

At the end, household goods remain the same along these years.

Overal, the food, the fuel and power, and the clothing and footware are decreasing between this period of time starting from 1968 to 2018. But the amount of money spend on housing is the only one that suffered a sharp increase.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several genuine changes, including the fall in food spending, the rise in housing, and the stability of household goods. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: you say families spent “relatively the same” in both years, although the leading categories changed substantially, and you describe housing as the only sharp increase while leisure also rose markedly, from 9% to 22%. Important comparisons are omitted, especially leisure and transport, and the opening does not clearly summarise the overall shift in spending. Develop a concise overview that highlights the largest rises and falls, then support it with accurate figures for the main categories. This would make the response address the chart more fully rather than presenting a limited selection of features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an opening statement, several category comparisons, and a concluding overview. Paragraph breaks also help separate the introduction from the details. However, progression is not consistently clear because the categories are presented one by one without grouping the major increases and decreases, and the conclusion repeats earlier points rather than synthesising the main pattern. Some linking phrases are awkward or unclear, such as “In the other hand” and “At the end,” while “For instance” does not introduce a particularly clear example. Grouping related changes—for example, rising categories together and falling or stable ones together—and using precise transitions would make the organisation easier to follow and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “drastic decrease,” “in contrast,” “doubled,” and “sharp increase,” so the reader can generally understand the intended comparisons. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unnatural or imprecise: “spending money,” “amount of spends,” and “suffered a sharp increase” do not fit this report style well. “Light decrease” is also an imprecise description of a small fall. There are spelling errors in “footware” and “Overal,” and repeated use of “amount of money” limits variety. Use standard terms such as “proportion,” “share,” and “expenditure,” and check spelling and collocations to make the descriptions more precise and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including comparisons and clauses linked with “such as” and “compared to,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in “housing stand in contrast” and “the amount of spends is,” while “the fuel and power, show” has an unnecessary comma and incorrect agreement. The opening construction, “In the chart below is shown that,” is also awkwardly formed, and the final sentence has a faulty structure in “the amount of money spend on housing.” These problems sometimes make the reader pause to interpret the meaning. Practise straightforward subject–verb patterns and accurate comparative clauses first, then add more complex structures while checking agreement, verb forms, and punctuation.

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