Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The chart illustrates the information of families in one country spent their weekly income between1968 and in 2018.

overall, spending on food between 1968 to 2018 remains the highest spending on the chart,while other items fluctuate through period of time.

In 1968, families spend magnificant amount on food which estimates about 35 percent of weekly income,After a dramatic decreased in 2018,it slights down to approximately 20%.In 1968 housing cost exactly 10 percent of families weekly income,but in 2018 the families spend around 20% of their weekly income.Fuel and power,clothing and footware and household goods slightly fluctuates between 1968 and 2018,but household goods remains constant throughout the years from 1968 to 2018.

In 1968, family spends approximately upto a 10% of their weekly spending on personal goods,transport and leisure,although spending on personal goods in 2018 fell around 5%,but in 2018 there was a massive resurgence on the spending of weekly income on transport and leisure estimately about 25%.2018 was relatively a much better year from 1968 in most of the cases like for housing,transport,leisure and household goods

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast: food takes the largest share in 1968, while housing and leisure become more prominent by 2018. You also report several relevant figures, including food at about 35% and housing at around 10% in 1968, and the rise in housing spending. However, some details are inaccurate: food falls to about 17%, not approximately 20%; leisure reaches about 22%, rather than 25%; and transport rises to 14%, not 25%. The overview that other items “fluctuate” is vague, and the claim that 2018 was “a much better year” is an unsupported judgement rather than a neutral comparison. Cover the key changes more precisely, especially the largest rises and falls.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to two paragraphs of comparisons. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the body paragraphs is uneven: the final paragraph combines personal goods, transport, leisure, and a broad judgement about 2018, making the comparisons harder to follow. Linking words such as “although” and “but” are sometimes combined awkwardly, as in “although …, but …,” and the overview does not clearly preview the main trends. Grouping categories by direction of change and using clearer transitions would make the organisation more coherent and reduce the impression of a list.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “dramatic decrease,” “remains constant,” and “resurgence,” so the main comparisons are generally understandable. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing chart data: “information of families … spent” and “slights down” do not express the intended meaning clearly, while “a much better year” is subjective and unsuitable for an objective report. There are also spelling and word-form errors, including “magnificant,” “footware,” and “estimately.” Aim for precise, neutral language such as “accounted for,” “declined,” and “rose,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “although” and clauses describing changes over time. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. Examples include “families … spent their weekly income between1968 and in 2018,” “families spend” when describing 1968, and “After a dramatic decreased … it slights down,” where tense and sentence construction are faulty. The sentence beginning “although spending … fell …, but in 2018…” also has an incorrect clause structure. Punctuation and spacing around sentence boundaries are often missing, which makes some sentences difficult to process. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build complex comparisons with one clear main clause.

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