Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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 given chart illustrate the comparison between the consumption of weekly income in 1968 and 2018 on 8 different things.

There was massive change record on the food connsumption . While on the other hand the percentage of household goods remain stable . It is noticed that in 1968 major of their income was spent on food but in 2018 highest budget taking is leisure activities.

In 1968 , 35% of their income people spent on their food which falls to almost 17% . After food , a major part of their income was spent on thier housing style which was almost 10% and same for their clothes and shoes . while the budget of housing style rise upto 18% by reaching 2018 . On the othe hand , the budget of clothes decreased to 5%.

The percentage of household goods remain stable from 1968 to 2018. In 1968 people did not spent on personal goods , just 7% which decrease more to 4% by reaching 2018.

There was a quite noticable change of the consumption on fuel between two eras falls from 6% to 4% .

The two things on which now people is spending more now is transport and leisure activites. which was almost 8% in 1968 . Transport budget increased to 14% of total and leisure activities budget rise upto 23%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main shift clearly: food was the largest category in 1968, whereas leisure became the largest in 2018, and you note that household-goods spending stayed stable. Most figures you report are close to the chart, including food, housing, clothing, fuel, transport and leisure. This gives the response a relevant overview and covers the main categories. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: “people did not spent on personal goods” conflicts with the 7% figure you give, and the chart shows 8% for household goods in both years. The overview could also compare the broad pattern more fully, such as the rise in housing and transport alongside the falls in food and clothing. Some categories receive less precise treatment than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an opening overview to details about food, housing and clothing, then other categories. This helps the reader follow the general comparison. However, progression is uneven: the opening overview is followed by several short, loosely connected points, and the final paragraph combines transport and leisure without clearly separating their comparisons. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand” are repeated or used where the contrast is not fully clear, while sentence fragments such as “which was almost 8% in 1968” weaken the flow. Grouping the categories into clearer paragraphs—for example, major decreases and increases—would create a more logical progression and make references between sentences easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “percentage,” “increased,” “decreased,” “remain stable” and “budget.” This is enough to communicate the main trends, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, such as “consumption of weekly income,” “housing style,” and “highest budget taking.” Spelling errors, including “connsumption,” “thier,” “noticable” and “activites,” also reduce accuracy. Try using standard chart language consistently, such as “share of weekly income,” “spending on housing,” and “accounted for.” More precise verbs and fewer repeated uses of “budget” would make the comparisons clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including contrasts introduced by “while” and clauses describing changes over time. However, control is inconsistent, and faulty sentence construction sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “The given chart illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, while “In 1968 people did not spent” uses the wrong verb form. The sentence beginning “The two things on which now people is spending more now” has problems with word order and agreement, and “which was almost 8% in 1968” is an incomplete clause. Commas and full stops are also used inconsistently. Focus on accurate basic sentence patterns first, then build longer comparisons with correctly formed clauses.

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