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 bar chart compared the data about how families in one nation spent their weekly money in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, Food on top position in each year after that housing instruments are on the second position. While, remaining categories are fluctuated in given time and not consume alot of money on them.

In 1968, food consume approximately at 35%, after years it half of its actual at 17% in 2018. Leisure percentage of money increased sharply from 7% in 1968 to 23% in 2018. Whilst, Housing spending at 12% in 1968 it twice in 2018 at 24%. Household goods reamined constant at same average at 8% in both years.

Furthermore, fuel and power weekly spending decreased in 2018 at 3% before fallen its at 7% in 1968. In general, clothing and footware expense fell down in 2018 at 5% from 10% in 1968. personal goods expense decreased gradually during the time from 9% to 4% in 1968 to 2018. At the end, transport spendings grow up in 2018 at 15% from 8% in 1968.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main shift away from food and towards leisure and housing, and you include comparisons for most categories. The figures for food, household goods, clothing, personal goods and transport are broadly consistent with the chart, allowing for approximate readings. However, the overview contains a significant misreading: food was the largest category in 1968, but leisure—not food—was largest in 2018, while housing was second in 1968 rather than the leading category after food in both years. Housing is also overstated at 24% in 2018; the chart shows about 19%. Some details, such as fuel and power, are difficult to follow. A more accurate overview and clearer reporting of these less-developed comparisons would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of detail. It also groups several categories together and uses linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Furthermore,” and “At the end,” so the reader can follow the broad progression. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “after years it half of its actual” does not clearly express the comparison, and “before fallen its at 7% in 1968” makes the fuel figures hard to interpret. The overview’s claim that food remained on top also conflicts with the later account of leisure rising. Organise the details more consistently by comparing the largest changes first, and use clear sentence links to show which year each figure belongs to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “increased sharply,” “decreased gradually,” “remained constant,” and “approximately,” which helps describe changes and proportions. There is also some variety in how you refer to spending. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “weekly money,” “housing instruments,” “consume alot of money,” and “spendings grow up.” Spelling errors, including “reamined” and “footware,” also reduce precision. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the general topic, but they make some comparisons less clear and limit the naturalness of the report. Aim for standard collocations such as “accounted for,” “expenditure on,” and “rose to,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “from … to …” and clauses introduced by “while” and “after.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors make individual statements difficult to interpret. For example, “Food on top position” is missing a verb and article, while “after years it half of its actual” lacks a clear subject and verb structure. In “Housing spending at 12% … it twice in 2018,” the sentence needs a complete clause and a correctly formed comparison. There are also problems with tense and sentence boundaries. Practise building complete sentences around each comparison, using accurate past-tense verbs and clear subjects; this will make your range more effective.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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