Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-03

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 below presents information about how families in a particular country spent their weekly earnings in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, we can see that total spending of money on food dropped. While housing and leisure spendings rose significantly, spendings on personal goods, clothing and fuel and power dropped. However, the household spendings stayed the same and transport rose slightly.

In 1968, 35 percent of weekly income spent on foods, in 2018 it dropped sharply to less than 20 percent. In turn, leisure spendings rose from less than 10 to over 20 percent i

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important trends accurately: food falls from 35% to below 20%, leisure rises from below 10% to above 20%, and you note increases in housing and transport alongside declines in some other categories. However, the response is incomplete and addresses the chart only partially. It ends mid-sentence at “over 20 percent i”, gives no figures for most categories, and does not develop comparisons such as housing rising from 10% to 19% or transport from 8% to 14%. The overview is relevant, but “total spending of money on food” is unclear because the chart shows the share of weekly income, not total spending. The response is also 55 words below the required minimum. To improve, complete the summary and select several key figures to support the overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic, sensible structure: an introduction is followed by an overview and then a paragraph beginning to describe the figures. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “While,” and “In turn” help show contrast and sequence. However, the response stops abruptly, so the information does not progress to a complete comparison or conclusion. The overview also groups several trends into one long sentence, making the relationships between categories somewhat crowded. Develop a separate body paragraph comparing the main decreases and another comparing increases or stable categories, using clear references to both years. Completing each sentence and paragraph would make the organisation more coherent and the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “dropped sharply,” “rose significantly,” and “weekly income,” and the main trends remain understandable. Some choices are imprecise or repetitive, however. “Total spending of money on food” does not accurately describe a percentage share, while “spendings” is repeated and is not the natural noun form in this context. “Foods” is also less suitable than “food” when referring to the category. The spelling “percent” is acceptable, but consistent use of the symbol or the phrase “per cent” would make the presentation more polished. Aim for precise chart language such as “the proportion of income allocated to” and vary verbs for increases and decreases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some complex sentence forms, particularly “While housing and leisure spendings rose significantly, spendings on personal goods, clothing and fuel and power dropped.” Most of the intended meaning is recoverable, but grammatical control is uneven. In “35 percent of weekly income spent on foods,” the sentence lacks a finite verb; write “35 percent of weekly income was spent on food.” The next sentence joins two independent clauses with only a comma: “In 2018 it dropped sharply…” should be separated or linked with a conjunction. The final sentence is unfinished, which also prevents the reader from seeing a complete grammatical structure. Use complete sentences and check verb forms, articles, and punctuation when reporting each comparison.

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