Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-22

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 5.0)

The bar chart illustrates the weekly income expenditure of the families in a country in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, there are eight given items including food, housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure.

In 1968, food was the item which leads and accounted for 35%, comapred with 10% in the housing ,clothing and footware, 9% in leisure, 8% in transport and personal goods, 7% and 6% in the household goods, fuel and power.

According to 2018, leisure records the largest proportion with 23% in comaprison of other items. Followed by the housing which showed the second largest proportion with 19%, 17% money spent on the food. Furthemore, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods and personal goods were least in this year as compared to 196

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and report several key figures, including food at 35% in 1968 and leisure at about 23% in 2018. However, the response does not provide a clear overview of the main changes across the two years; the second paragraph mainly lists categories and values. Some figures are inaccurate: household goods in 1968 is about 8%, not 7%, and the 2018 figures for fuel and power, clothing, household goods and personal goods are not reported. The final comparison is also incomplete, ending with “196”. The response is 134 words, below the required 150, which contributes to the limited coverage. Add a concise overview and compare the largest rises and falls, using accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about 1968 and one about 2018. This helps the reader follow the broad time-based organisation. However, the overview paragraph only names the eight categories rather than summarising the main pattern, so the progression from introduction to data is not fully effective. Linking is also limited and sometimes awkward: “According to 2018” does not clearly introduce a comparison, while “Followed by” is left as a fragment. The final sentence is cut off, weakening the ending. Organise the body around meaningful comparisons, such as categories that rose versus those that fell, and use clear links such as “By contrast” and “Meanwhile.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “accounted for,” “proportion” and “largest,” and the reader can generally understand the categories being compared. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “weekly income expenditure,” “the item which leads,” and “in comparison of.” Spelling errors in “comapred,” “comaprison,” “Furthemore” and “footware” also reduce accuracy. Repeating “proportion” and relying on “item” make the description less precise. Use standard expressions such as “share of weekly spending,” “was the largest category,” and “compared with,” and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, and some clauses communicate the intended figures clearly. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and several attempts at more complex sentences are faulty. For example, “Followed by the housing…” is a sentence fragment, while “17% money spent on the food” lacks a grammatical link between the figure and the category. The phrase “the housing which showed” also has an unclear structure, and the final sentence is incomplete. There are additional problems with articles, spacing and punctuation, as in “in the housing ,clothing.” Practise complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use patterns such as “Housing accounted for 19%, while food represented 17%.”

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