Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-01

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 shows a comparison of families in one nation spent their weekly earning between 1968 to 2018.

Overall, total eight catafories where people spent their money. They invested most of the money in food, leisure, transport and housing where as fuel power,clothing and footware,household goods and personal goods they used their small amount of money.But they cost expensively on their food.

Firstly, In 1968 food consumed the most amount of weekly earing and its about 35% of a person weekly salary where as it became half of cost in 2018(17%). Leisure is the second most costing in 2018 it almost 22% but in 1968 it cost was less than half comapred to 2018. Housing and transport bill were approximately 10% and 8% in 1968 but now both grow into almost double(19% and 14%).

On the other hand, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods and feel and power bill are very less both in1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s main contrast: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure and housing were prominent in 2018. You also report several relevant figures, including food at about 35% and 17%, and housing rising from 10% to 19%. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: saying families “invested most” in food, leisure, transport and housing groups together categories that were not all major in both years, and “they cost expensively on their food” does not clearly describe the trend. The final paragraph calls several categories “very less” without reporting their changes; for example, transport rose substantially, while household goods stayed level. Select the key rises, falls and stable figures, and summarise them precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and paragraphs comparing the two years. The sequence from the largest category to other spending areas is generally understandable, and phrases such as “Overall,” “Firstly” and “On the other hand” signal transitions. However, progression is weakened by an overview that combines categories without a clear organising principle, followed by a final paragraph that repeats a broad claim rather than adding a useful comparison. Some links are also awkward or unclear, particularly “where as” and “but now both grow into almost double.” Group the figures by their main patterns—large decreases, increases and little change—and use linking expressions that accurately show those relationships.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “comparison,” “weekly,” “approximately,” “consumed” and “bill,” and you attempt to describe change with “became half” and “grow.” However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow. “Invested most of the money” is not a natural way to describe household spending, while “very less” and “costing” are unsuitable in this context. There are also spelling errors in key terms, including “catafories,” “footware,” “comapred” and “earing.” Use precise verbs such as “accounted for,” “fell,” “rose” and “remained stable,” and check spelling of the chart categories.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “where as” and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “The bar chart shows a comparison of families … spent” lacks a grammatical link between the ideas, while “Leisure is the second most costing in 2018 it almost 22%” has an incomplete clause and unclear sentence boundary. There are also problems with articles, possessives and verb forms, as in “a person weekly salary” and “both grow.” Build shorter, complete sentences first, then practise accurate comparative clauses and past-tense forms for the two years.

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