Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The chart below compares between the average weekly spending by families in 1968 and 2018 in one country .

Overall, we see a sudden drop in food , and when we talk about fuel power , clothing and footware and personal goods , there was decreased slighly . On the flip side , housing ,transport and leisure we see a slight increase between 1968 and 2018.

In 1968 , the families ate too much food and we see 35% of the weekly income go in it . But in housing, clothing and footware , fuel power , household goods , personal goods , tensport and leisure ; the families spend maximly 20% of the weekly income.

On 2018 we see alot o

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s subject and give a broad overview, noting that food spending fell while housing, transport and leisure rose. However, the response reports very little of the 2018 data and does not complete its final sentence (“On 2018 we see alot o…”), so the main comparisons are not adequately summarised. Some details are also inaccurate or unclear: housing, clothing and footwear, fuel, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure did not all remain below 20% in 1968—housing, clothing and footwear were 10%, while the other listed figures were lower. The response is also 28 words below the required minimum. To improve, complete the report and include key figures, especially the 2018 highs for leisure and housing and the fall in food spending.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview and a paragraph beginning with details about 1968. The overview also uses a contrast marker (“On the flip side”) to distinguish rising from falling categories. However, the response stops partway through the final paragraph, leaving the comparison unfinished and preventing a clear progression through both years. Several ideas are crowded into one sentence, particularly the list beginning “when we talk about fuel power,” and punctuation spacing makes the text harder to follow. Organise the body into a clear comparison of the main figures for each year, and use linking phrases to show specific contrasts rather than relying on lists.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “drop,” “decreased” and “increase,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or spellings reduce precision: “ate too much food” describes consumption rather than the proportion of income spent, while “tensport,” “alot” and “footware” are inaccurate. “Fuel power” is also an incomplete label for the chart category. Use neutral reporting language and the chart’s exact category names, such as “spending on food” and “fuel and power.” More precise verbs such as “accounted for,” “rose” and “fell” would help you describe the data clearly and avoid informal or misleading phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates a few basic comparisons, but its sentence structures are limited and errors occur frequently. For example, “The chart below compares between…” uses an incorrect pattern after “compares,” and “there was decreased slighly” has an incorrect verb construction. The overview also shifts into an incomplete structure in “housing, transport and leisure we see a slight increase,” while “On 2018 we see…” uses an incorrect preposition and the final sentence is unfinished. Commas are often separated from the preceding word, and the semicolon before the list does not help the sentence structure. Practise accurate simple reporting patterns first, such as “Spending on X fell from… to…,” then combine them with controlled contrast clauses.

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