Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-23

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 bar chart compare the amount of money spent on different categories, including food,housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport, and leisure.

Overall, It can be clearly seen that Food made up of highest spending category for one group, while housing is the largest for the other group. Spending on leisure and transport also shows a noticeable difference between the two group.

It is interesting to note that, Looking at the first froup food accounts for the heighest amount of spending. Housing is another important category, although the amount spent on it is lower than that on food. clothing and footware also receive a same amount of money as like housing . In comparison, spending on fuel and power is relatively low. Household goods and personal have similar figures.

Turning to the secound group, Housing recevices the highest amount spending among the categories shows. Leisure and transport also accounnt for relatively high amounts. In particular, spending on leisure is much higher than the first group. Similarly figure for transport is higher in secound g

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and make a relevant overall comparison: food is the largest category in 1968, while housing leads in 2018, and leisure and transport rise. Several details are also broadly accurate, such as housing and clothing/footwear being about equal in 1968 and household goods remaining similar. However, the report is only partly complete: it gives few figures, does not clearly compare the full range of categories across the years, and ends mid-sentence while discussing transport. Some statements are vague, such as “another important category,” rather than reporting the actual proportions. Include key figures—for example, food falls from about 35% to 17%, while leisure rises from 9% to 22%—and finish the comparison of the main changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to separate paragraphs about each year. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “Overall” and “Turning to” signal shifts in focus. However, progression within the body paragraphs is limited: categories are listed without a consistent comparison or clear ranking, and the final paragraph stops abruptly at “higher in secound g,” leaving the discussion unfinished. Some links are also awkward or unclear, including “Similarly figure for transport.” Organise the details around the most important comparisons between years, use clear linking phrases to connect them, and ensure the final sentence completes the point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “category,” “accounts for,” “spending,” and “relatively low,” and you attempt to vary expressions rather than relying entirely on “spent.” This is enough to communicate the general topic, but the range and control are limited, with repeated general wording such as “amount of money” and “important category.” Several spelling errors are noticeable, including “heighest,” “recevices,” “accounnt,” and “secound,” while “first froup” appears to be a typing error. Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “a same amount of money as like housing.” Use precise terms such as “proportion” and “share,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including “although” and “while,” and the main message is generally understandable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur in basic sentence patterns as well as longer constructions. For example, “The bar chart compare” needs subject–verb agreement, and “Food made up of highest spending category” has an incorrect verb pattern and missing article. “the categories shows” also has faulty agreement, while “Housing recevices the highest amount spending” lacks a grammatical construction for expressing the amount. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, particularly after full stops and around category lists. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, and complete sentence structures before adding more complex clauses.

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