Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-24

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 following bar chart illustrates the how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018 and the spendigs were chatacharized into eight sections, they are food, housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure.

Overall, it is clear that families in 1968 spent more money than the families in 2018.Most people spent money on Food in 1968 and least amount forfuel and power. In 2018 most amout were spent on leisure and lest amount were spent forfuel and power along with Personal goods which was equal amount.

Most of people spent money for foods whch is 35 percent of their income in 1968.But later it is decreased upto 17% may be due increse of other expenses. 10 percent of weekly income were spent for housing back in 1968 and it increased upto 19 percent in 2018. Which implies house rentals increased significantly during this period. And also fuel and power was back in 1968 were expensive when compared to nowdays which has similar pattern for clothing and fottware.

Equal amount of money were spent on household goods back in 1968 and 2018 around 9 percent of their spendings similarly for personal goods in 1968 but it decreased upto 4 percent in 2018. And people spent more money on leisure nowadays compared to 1968 and similar pattern for transportation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main categories and several important comparisons, including food falling from 35% to 17%, housing rising from 10% to 19%, and leisure becoming the largest category in 2018. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: the chart shows proportions of weekly income, not that families spent more money overall in 1968. Some details are also imprecise: household goods are about 8% in both years, rather than 9%, and transport rises from 8% to 14%, a comparison that is only vaguely described. The explanation that food spending fell “due to increase of other expenses” and the claim about rental costs are unsupported by the chart. A clearer overview and more accurate reporting of the main changes would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of details. This helps the reader identify the broad purpose of each section. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is uneven, and several comparisons are left vague, such as “similar pattern for clothing” and “similar pattern for transportation.” Linking words are sometimes used mechanically or create sentence fragments: “Which implies house rentals increased significantly” does not connect smoothly to the preceding sentence. The overview also repeats category information from the introduction without clearly organising the most important contrasts. Grouping related rises and falls, then using clear references and complete transitions, would make the account easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “percent,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “equal amount,” so the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and some word choices are inaccurate or awkward, such as “spent more money” when the chart compares proportions, and “most amount were spent.” Spelling errors are noticeable, including “spendigs,” “chatacharized,” “footware,” and “fottware,” and they reduce the clarity and polish of the report. Phrases such as “back in 1968” and “nowadays” are also less suitable for a formal chart summary. Practise accurate category names and concise comparison language, and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “but” and “similarly,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently and sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “Most people spent money on Food in 1968 and least amount forfuel and power” lacks an article and has an incomplete comparison, while “Equal amount of money were spent” has subject–verb disagreement. Sentence boundaries are also problematic: “Which implies house rentals increased significantly” is a fragment, and several long sentences join ideas without clear punctuation. Work on articles, agreement, complete sentence structure, and punctuation before adding more complex clauses.

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