Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-28

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 illustrates weekly spending of families in particular country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, food and leisure shared the largest proportion in 1968 and 2018 respectively. While fuel and power was the least spending category in 1968 and 2018.

It can be seen that in 1968 housing category and "clothing and footware" category consumed 10% of weekly income. While transport was slightly low around 7%. Furthermore, household goods and personal goods were slightly behind with a minor difference as compare to transport category

In 2018 housing took a gain of almost of 10%. Similarly, transport took massive increase of approximately 7%, while household goods category remained the same. In Contrast, clothing and footware category was decreased around 5%. Likewise, personal goods was bit lower as compare to 1968.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s main contrast: food is the largest category in 1968, while leisure is largest in 2018, and you note that household-goods spending stays unchanged. However, the overview is incomplete: fuel and power is not the lowest category in 2018—personal goods is equally low at about 4%—and several important changes are omitted, especially food falling from about 35% to 17% and leisure rising from about 9% to 22%. Some figures are also imprecise, such as transport at around 7% in 1968 rather than about 8%. The response is 131 words, below the required 150, which limits the detail reported. Develop the key comparisons and include the major rises and falls.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the two years. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the detail is uneven, and the final paragraph lists changes without consistently comparing the categories or explaining their relative importance. The sentence beginning “It can be seen that” is followed by a fragment starting “While transport…”, and the overview’s second sentence also begins with “While” without a complete contrasting clause. Linking phrases such as “Furthermore,” “Similarly,” and “Likewise” help connect points, but some are mechanical or do not clarify the relationship. Grouping the largest increases, decreases, and unchanged figures would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “category,” “weekly income,” and “remained the same,” so the topic is generally clear. There is also some attempt to vary wording with phrases such as “took a massive increase.” However, several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, including “shared the largest proportion,” “took a gain,” and “slightly behind,” which make the comparisons less precise. “Footware” is misspelled; the correct spelling is “footwear.” Repeated use of “category” and vague phrases such as “a bit lower” also limit precision. Choose standard reporting verbs such as “accounted for,” “rose,” and “fell,” and use exact comparative language to describe the chart’s changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the contrast in “While fuel and power was…” and the comparison “In 2018 housing took…”. The main information is usually understandable, but some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. “While transport was slightly low around 7%” is a fragment, and “While fuel and power was the least spending category” is also not a complete independent sentence. There are errors in articles and agreement, as in “in particular country” and “personal goods was,” and the phrase “a gain of almost of 10%” shows faulty construction. Use complete sentences, check singular and plural agreement, and practise accurate comparative structures such as “Housing rose from 10% to 19%.”

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