Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-21

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 4.0)

The bar chart shows information about how families in only country spent their seven days income in 1968 and in 2018.

It is evident from the chart that the average weekly income of food in 1968 had very increased and the average weekly income of fuel and power in 1968

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5

The opening identifies the chart’s subject and the two years, but the response does not provide a usable summary of the data. The only comparison attempted is that food spending in 1968 “had very increased”; this is unclear and does not report a figure or explain how it compares with 2018. The sentence about fuel and power is unfinished, and no overall pattern or other categories are described. The response is also substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the task largely unaddressed. To improve, give a clear overview—for example, food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure was largest in 2018—and support it with accurate comparisons across several categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: a short introductory sentence is followed by a sentence beginning “It is evident from the chart”. However, the response stops mid-sentence after “fuel and power in 1968”, so the reader cannot follow a complete line of development or understand the intended comparison. There are no paragraphs or linking expressions to connect key features, although the very short response gives little opportunity to demonstrate these. A clearer structure would use an introduction, an overview, and one or two paragraphs grouping the main increases and decreases, with links such as “whereas” and “by contrast”.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses a small set of relevant terms, including “bar chart”, “average weekly income”, “food” and “fuel and power”, so the topic is recognisable. However, some word choices and combinations are inaccurate: “in only country” is not a natural way to describe the chart, and “seven days income” does not express weekly spending clearly. “Had very increased” is also an unsuitable collocation for describing a change. The limited vocabulary and lack of category comparisons prevent the writer from showing greater range or precision. Use the chart’s wording consistently, especially “weekly spending” and “percentage of weekly income”, and choose verbs such as “rose”, “fell” or “accounted for” to report figures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response shows an attempt at a complex introductory structure in “The bar chart shows information about how families … spent”, and the opening sentence is broadly understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven: “in only country” is missing an article, and “the average weekly income of food in 1968 had very increased” has an unclear sentence structure and an incorrect verb construction. The final sentence is incomplete, ending without a main clause or completed comparison. Because the response contains only two sentences, there is little evidence of a range of structures. Practise complete comparative sentences, for example, “Families spent 35% of their income on food in 1968, compared with 17% in 2018.”

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