Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-26

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)

As far as this graphic description is concerned the given graph represents the information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

In 1968, The highest weekly income on food was 35% and the lowest weekly income was on fuel, which is 6%. On the housing, they spent their weekly income 10%. On the clothing and footware, they spent their weekly income 10%. On household, they spent their round about 7% of weekly income. On persona goods, they spent their 75% of weekly income. On Transport, they spent their 7% of weekly income. They spent their leisure time round about 8% of weekly income.

In 2018, The highest weekly income on leisure was 22% and the lowest weekly income was on fuel and power, which is 5%. On the housing, they spent their weekly income 19%. On the clothing and footware, they spent their weekly income 5%. On household goods, they spent their round about 7% of weekly income. On persona goods, they spent their 4% of weekly income. On Transport, they spent their 14% of weekly income. They spent for food round about 17% of weekly income.

To Encapsulate, I would like to spotlight the given bar graph. In 2018, most of things are expensive so many people can't afford. In 1968, they had been living a easier lifestyle because most of things are reasonable for them.

In short the given graph has shown the difference between lifestyle people live in 1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two years and report several relevant figures, including food at 35% in 1968, housing at 19% in 2018, and leisure at 22% in 2018. However, the account is only partially accurate: “personal goods” in 1968 was 8%, not 75%, and the lowest 2018 figure was 4% for fuel and power and personal goods, rather than 5% for fuel and power. The overview is also weak: the final claims about affordability and an “easier lifestyle” are not demonstrated by the chart, which shows spending proportions rather than prices or living standards. To strengthen the response, give a concise, chart-based overview of the main shifts, such as the fall in food spending and rises in leisure, housing, and transport, and avoid unsupported explanations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for 1968 and 2018, and a concluding paragraph. This makes the two years easy to distinguish. However, the information is presented as a repetitive list, with many sentences following the same pattern (“On the housing…” and “On the clothing…”), so there is little progression or grouping of related changes. The conclusion repeats the topic and then introduces claims about affordability that do not follow from the figures. Use an overview after the introduction, then organise the details around the largest changes and the smaller or stable categories. More purposeful linking and clearer references would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “weekly income,” “highest,” “lowest,” and “bar graph,” and most category names are recognisable. However, the range is limited and some expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, including “the highest weekly income on food,” “spent their leisure time” when describing a spending share, and “To Encapsulate.” There are also spelling or word-form errors, such as “footware” and “persona goods,” which reduce precision. Aim for concise reporting language and accurate category labels: for example, say that families “allocated” or “spent” a percentage of income on each category. Avoid decorative phrases and use vocabulary that describes the data directly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Most sentences are simple, and the repeated pattern “On the housing, they spent…” shows an attempt to report figures, but the response has limited structural variety. Errors occur frequently in sentence construction and punctuation, for example, “On the housing, they spent their weekly income 10%” lacks a natural grammatical link between the spending and the figure. Capitalisation is inconsistent after sentence openings (“In 1968, The highest…”), and “they had been living a easier lifestyle” contains problems with article use and tense. These issues sometimes make the intended meaning less clear. Practise accurate comparative sentences, such as “Spending on food fell from 35% to 17%,” and check articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries.

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