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 bar graph provides us with information about the average proportion of weekly income spent by families on eight countries on eight catagories in the year 1968 and in 2018. Overall, spending on food is the highest percentage in 1968 and in 2018 spending on leisure and housing is the highest percentage.

First of all, in the year 1968 spending income on food shows the highest percentage which is 35% and it decreased in 2018 and its percentage is about 15% to 20%. Secondly, spending on housing and clothing and footware in 1968 shows the second highest percentage which was 10% and in 2018 spend on housing increased and its percentage was almost near to 20%. The following catagories shows almost equal percentages such as fuel and power household goods in 1968 are almost equal which was 5% to 10%. At last, spending income on leisure shows the highest percentage in the year 2018 that was 20% to 25%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast that food took the largest share in 1968 and that leisure and housing were prominent in 2018. You also include several relevant figures, such as food at 35% and housing at about 20% in 2018. However, the overview is incomplete: leisure, not housing, was the largest category in 2018 (about 22%), and housing was second. Some comparisons are vague or inaccurate; for example, clothing was 10% in 1968 but fell to 5% in 2018, while fuel and power declined from 6% to 4%. The response selects relevant information, but several categories and changes are omitted or only loosely described. A clearer overview and more accurate, balanced comparisons would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an introduction and overview are followed by details introduced with “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “At last.” This gives the reader some guidance through the information. However, the progression is not consistently clear because several categories are grouped together without explaining their relative changes, and the final detail about leisure is separated from the other 2018 figures. The phrase “The following categories” does not clearly identify which categories are being discussed, and the repeated sequencing expressions make the linking somewhat mechanical. Organise the body into clearer comparisons—for example, categories that fell and those that rose—and use precise references to connect each figure to its year.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “categories,” so the reader can generally understand the comparisons being attempted. However, the range is limited and some expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “spending income on food” and “shows the highest percentage.” Prefer natural report language such as “families spent 35% of their weekly income on food” or “food accounted for the largest share.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “catagories” and “footware,” and “on eight countries” appears to be an inaccurate word choice for the chart’s subject. More precise collocations and accurate spelling would improve clarity and make the description more suitable for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main message is usually understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and agreement recur. For example, “the average proportion … spent by families on eight countries on eight catagories” has an unclear grammatical relationship between the phrases, while “The following catagories shows” has a subject–verb agreement error. The sentence beginning “Secondly” also combines several comparisons in a way that makes the structure difficult to follow. Articles and prepositions are not always controlled, as in “spending income on food.” Use shorter, complete comparison sentences and check that each subject agrees with its verb; then add more complex structures only where the relationships between figures remain clear.

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