Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The chart below compares the spending of families in one country in the year 1968 and 2018. Comparision factors are Food, Housing, fuel and power, wardrobe and shoes, Household and personal items, travel and amusement.

Overall, most of income spent on food in intial year, whereas less spending on all other factors was less. Housing,lesiure and transport rose prominently higher in later year. whereas Fuel consumption was very low in both year. wardrobe and transport were high in intial and lower in later year. Household goods trend reamin same in both years.

In 1968, the income spends on food was almost 35% of the income. In later year, more spending shifts to housing and leisure with almost 20-22%.

Whereas, Money investing on house hold items were same in both years with almost 10%. Furthermore, Income spends on wardrobe, personal goods and travel were almost same in year 1968 with ratio of 8 to 10. These three categories falls down in 2018.

Money spending on food was reduced in 2018 with almost 15%. Transpot category also rise by year 2018. Fuel consumption wardrobe and personal goods was very low with percentage of 3 to 5 in 2018. Lesiure face decline in

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast between the years: food takes the largest share in 1968, while housing, leisure and transport become more prominent by 2018. Several figures are broadly accurate, including food at about 35% initially and household goods remaining similar. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: household goods were about 8% in both years, not almost 10%; transport rose from about 8% to 14%, rather than being grouped with categories that fell; and leisure increased to about 22%, but the final sentence says it faced a decline and is unfinished. The overview also says spending on all other factors was lower initially, which is too general. Select the clearest changes and report them consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, so there is some organisation and the reader can identify the broad comparison. However, progression is weakened by ideas being repeated or placed in confusing groups. For example, the overview says transport rose, then later groups travel with categories that fell; the final sentence about leisure is incomplete. Linking words such as “Whereas” and “Furthermore” are sometimes used without a clear relationship to the preceding sentence, and the overview contains several abrupt statements. Organise the details by clear trends—categories that rose, fell or stayed similar—and use complete sentences with references that make each comparison easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “income,” “rose” and “reduced,” and you attempt to paraphrase chart categories. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the data harder to interpret. “Wardrobe and shoes” does not clearly represent clothing and footwear, while “money investing on household items” is an unsuitable collocation for spending. There are also repeated spelling errors, such as “Comparision,” “lesiure” and “Transpot,” and inconsistent category labels such as “travel” for transport. Use the chart’s category names where paraphrasing risks changing the meaning, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, but control is inconsistent, and errors frequently affect clarity. Examples include “most of income spent on food,” which lacks a correctly formed verb phrase, and “the income spends on food,” where the subject and verb form do not fit the intended meaning. Agreement and tense are also problematic in “These three categories falls down,” while “Fuel consumption wardrobe and personal goods was very low” has unclear sentence structure and agreement. Punctuation and sentence boundaries need attention, particularly in the overview and the unfinished final sentence. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and complete clauses before adding more complex comparisons.

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