Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-29

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 5.0)

The bar chart illustrates How families spend their weekly income in 1968 and 2018

Overall,It can clearly be seen that approximately food consumption consists the highest income at the beginning of the period number of 35 per cent (1968). In comparison fuel and power while personal goods was the least consumption.

In 1968 families spend their most income in food likewise Housing and clothing and food ware shows the same Amount of number (10%) fuel power was less than liesure the figure of 12% and 8% In Contrast, Household good ,personal goods and transport showed the same accounts 6 per cent.

By,2018 they were spend their highest income in liesure percentage of 23%) Following fuel and power and personal good which is the least their spend with accounts for 4% food , housing and transport consumption 17% ,19%,14%respectively

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the chart’s broad contrast: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure was largest in 2018, and you note several later figures. However, the summary is only partial and some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. For example, fuel and power was 6% in 1968, not 12%, and household goods, personal goods and transport were not all 6%: each was about 8%. The overview also incorrectly calls personal goods the least-spent category in 1968, when fuel and power was lower. Include the major shifts—especially food falling from 35% to 17%, leisure rising from 9% to 22%, and housing and transport increasing. The response is also below the required 150 words, limiting its coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response into an overview and separate descriptions of the two years, which gives the reader some sense of the chart’s structure. However, progression within the paragraphs is difficult to follow because several categories and figures are crowded into long, loosely connected sentences. The transition “In Contrast” is not clearly linked to the preceding comparison, and the final sentence lists values without consistently showing which category each belongs to. Use one paragraph for the overview and one or two for grouped comparisons, with clear links such as “whereas,” “by contrast,” and “meanwhile.” Full stops and commas should separate each comparison so the relationships between figures are easier to understand.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “bar chart,” “weekly income,” “percentage,” and “in comparison,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear. Phrases such as “food consumption consists the highest income” and “the least consumption” do not naturally describe spending shares; “accounted for the largest proportion of weekly spending” would be more precise. There are also repeated spelling errors, including “liesure,” “ware,” and “good” where the plural category is intended. Use accurate category names from the chart and vary reporting verbs, for example “rose,” “fell,” “represented,” and “accounted for.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer comparisons, but sentence structures are often incomplete or faulty, and errors frequently make relationships between ideas hard to follow. For example, “Overall,It can clearly be seen that approximately food consumption consists the highest income” has incorrect word order and verb construction. “In 1968 families spend” uses the wrong tense for past data, while “By,2018 they were spend” combines verb forms incorrectly. Agreement and sentence boundaries are also problematic in phrases such as “fuel and power while personal goods was” and in the long final list, which lacks clear punctuation. Build accurate simple sentences first, using past-tense forms such as “spent,” “was,” and “accounted for,” then add controlled comparisons with “while” or “whereas.”

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.