Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-30

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 chart illustrates the information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, the major expense has always been food and leisure, other necessities such as clothing, personal goods, fuel and power and housing also took a part of peoples income deduction. Transport is also considered one of the major expense in these two years.

Starting with the major expense which always been food, it took almost 35% of the weekly income of an individual in 1968 while approximately 18% of weekly income is spent on food in 2018. Leisure took upto 20% in 2018 and less than 10% in 1968. Household goods consisted approximately 8% in both years.

Additionally, personal goods conatined 7% of weekly income in 1968 and less than 5% in 2018. Housing was cheaper in 1968 with 10% spending and almost 20% in 2018. Clothing and footwear consisted 5% in 2018 while it was almost 10% in 1968. Fuel power contained more or less about 5% in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two years and report several relevant comparisons, including food falling from about 35% to around 18%, housing rising from 10% to nearly 20%, and household goods remaining at about 8%. However, the overview is unclear: saying food and leisure were the major expenses “always” is inaccurate, since leisure was not a leading category in 1968, and transport is described as a major expense in both years without supporting figures. Transport’s rise from 8% to 14% is an important change that should be included. Some details are also imprecise, such as fuel and power being about 5% in both years, when it fell from roughly 6% to 4%. A clearer overview and more accurate selection of key changes would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details, and uses basic linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Starting with,” and “Additionally.” This helps the reader follow the categories being discussed. However, the overview groups several categories together without a clear organising principle, and the body does not consistently compare the two years in a logical order. Transport is mentioned in the overview but then omitted from the detailed comparisons. Some transitions, such as “Starting with the major expense which always been food,” are awkward and do not clearly connect the point to the chart. Grouping the largest increases, decreases, and stable figures into focused paragraphs would create clearer progression and more effective cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “approximately,” “consisted,” and “spending,” and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “income deduction,” “took a part of peoples income,” and “Household goods consisted approximately 8%.” “Major expense” is also repeated, and “always” overstates the pattern. There are spelling errors in “conatined” and “upto,” while “footwear” is the correct spelling rather than the chart’s apparent typo. Aim for precise reporting verbs and natural phrases such as “accounted for,” “made up,” and “the proportion spent on.” This would make the vocabulary more accurate and less repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and a longer overview sentence, and readers can usually understand the intended meaning. However, errors occur often enough to make some sentences awkward. For example, “the major expense which always been food” is missing an auxiliary verb, and “Transport is also considered one of the major expense” has an agreement error. In “approximately 18% of weekly income is spent,” the tense does not match the past-year data, and “Household goods consisted approximately 8%” uses an incomplete grammatical pattern. Articles and possessives are also inconsistent, as in “a part of peoples income.” Practise accurate past-tense comparisons and patterns such as “accounted for 8%” to improve control.

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

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