Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-31

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 average weekly spending by families in 1968 and in 2018.

The chart seperated weekly spending by 8 different types. In 1968, food shared the largest part of spending, while fuel and power was the smallest part. In the other side, leisure activities and housing became the biggest income in 2018.

Compare to 1968 and 2018, food dicreased from 35% to around 17% which makes it the only part that fell down. Housing and clothing and footware accounted almost the same percentage as 10% in 1968, however, housing rose up twice approximately when clothing and footware dicreased by twice.

The only part didn't change was household goods, at around 8% in both years. Personal goods and fuel and power also showed dicreasing from 8% to 4%, 6% to 4% each. Leisure and transport rose up during those years. Especially, leisure went up from 8% to 22%, showed huge increase. For transport, it increased slightly from 8% to 14%.

Overall, most of the spendings increased a bit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important patterns, including food as the largest category in 1968, leisure and housing as the leading categories in 2018, and household goods remaining stable. Most figures are reported accurately. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “most of the spendings increased a bit” overlooks the substantial falls in food, clothing, personal goods and fuel, while leisure rose sharply rather than “a bit.” Also, fuel and power—not the only category to fall—was the smallest in 1968, and food was not the only category that decreased. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview that captures the main shift from food towards leisure and housing, then compare the largest rises and falls precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a description of the main categories, comparisons, and a concluding overview. This helps the reader follow the data. However, progression is weakened by an unclear overview at the end and some awkward or inaccurate links, such as “In the other side” and “Compare to 1968 and 2018.” The paragraph beginning “The only part didn't change” groups several trends together without a clear hierarchy, and the final sentence conflicts with the earlier details. Organise the body around the main decreases and increases, and use linking phrases that clearly signal comparison, such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “accounted,” “percentage,” “increased,” and “decreased,” and the category names make the comparisons understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate: “food shared the largest part,” “biggest income,” and “rose up” are not natural ways to describe spending proportions. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “seperated,” “dicreased,” and “footware.” Use precise reporting language such as “accounted for the largest share,” “represented the highest proportion,” and “rose from … to ….” Check spelling carefully, especially for repeated chart labels, and avoid using “spending” as a plural noun.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt some complex sentences, for example the comparison beginning “Housing and clothing and footware accounted almost the same percentage …, however,” and the sentence contrasting personal goods with fuel and power. The meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and verb forms are frequent enough to limit clarity. Examples include “fuel and power was” (agreement), “the only part didn't change” (missing relative structure), and “leisure went up from 8% to 22%, showed huge increase” (faulty clause connection and missing article). Practise forming complete clauses and joining them with appropriate conjunctions or punctuation. A clearer version would be: “Leisure rose from 9% to 22%, the largest increase among the categories.”

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