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Cambridge 17 Writing Task 1 Test 2 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

The Prompt

Police Budget 2017-2018

The table and charts below give information on the police budget for 2017 and 2018 in one area of Britain. The table shows where the money came from and the charts show how it was distributed.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The Data

Police budget sources of funding 2017-2018 (£m)

National Government: £175.5m (2017) → £177.8m (2018)

Local Taxes: £91.2m (2017) → £102.3m (2018)

Other sources (e.g. grants): £38.0m (2017) → £38.5m (2018)

Total: £304.7m (2017) → £318.6m (2018)

How police budget was spent 2017-2018

Salaries (officers and staff): ~78% (2017) → ~77% (2018)

Technology: ~13% (2017) → ~16% (2018)

Buildings and transport: ~9% (2017) → ~7% (2018)

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Band 9

174 words

Explicitly links the technology-spending increase to the buildings-and-transport decrease as a single reallocation, rather than describing them separately.

The two tables compare the sources of funding for the police budget in one area of Britain in 2017 and 2018, and how that budget was subsequently spent.

Overall, total police funding increased between the two years, driven primarily by a substantial rise in local tax contributions, while spending patterns remained broadly similar, aside from a modest shift away from buildings and transport towards technology.

In terms of funding sources, the national government remained the largest contributor in both years, rising only slightly from £175.5m to £177.8m. Local taxes, however, increased considerably more, from £91.2m to £102.3m, while funding from other sources such as grants remained almost unchanged. As a result, the total budget rose from £304.7m to £318.6m.

Regarding expenditure, salaries consistently accounted for the vast majority of spending, at approximately 78% in 2017 and 77% in 2018, essentially unchanged. Spending on technology rose from around 13% to 16%, while the proportion spent on buildings and transport fell correspondingly, from about 9% to 7%, suggesting a modest reallocation of resources towards technological investment.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Accurately covers both tables with a precise overview identifying the two notable patterns: rising local tax funding and a shift towards technology spending.

Coherence & Cohesion: A clear overview precedes detail organised by table, with cohesive devices ("however", "as a result") linking the two data sets naturally.

Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("contributor", "reallocation", "correspondingly") used accurately throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including comparatives, used with full control.

Band 8

168 words

Accurate and clearly organised, just slightly less analytically framed than a band 9 answer.

The two tables show where police funding came from in one area of Britain in 2017 and 2018, and how the money was spent.

Overall, the total police budget increased between the two years, mainly because of a rise in local tax funding, while spending stayed fairly similar apart from a small increase in technology spending.

The national government remained the biggest source of funding in both years, rising only slightly from £175.5m to £177.8m. Local taxes increased more noticeably, from £91.2m to £102.3m, while other sources stayed almost the same. This meant the total budget grew from £304.7m to £318.6m.

In terms of spending, salaries made up the largest share in both years, at about 78% in 2017 and 77% in 2018. Spending on technology rose from around 13% to 16%, while spending on buildings and transport fell slightly, from about 9% to 7%. These figures suggest that the police service prioritised maintaining its overall staffing levels while gradually investing a little more heavily in new technology.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers both tables accurately with a clear overview, including the rise in local tax funding, though described a little more simply than in the band 9 answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised with an overview followed by detail grouped by table; cohesive devices are accurate throughout.

Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary for describing figures, though slightly less analytical than the higher-band answer's phrasing.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Accurate throughout, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures.

Band 7

154 words

All figures are correct, but the shift between technology and buildings-and-transport spending is only loosely stated rather than clearly demonstrated.

The two tables show the police budget for 2017 and 2018 in one area of Britain, including where the money came from and how it was spent.

Overall, the total budget increased from 2017 to 2018, and most of the money in both years was spent on salaries.

The national government gave the most money in both years, rising a little from £175.5m to £177.8m. Local taxes went up more, from £91.2m to £102.3m. The total budget grew from £304.7m to £318.6m.

For spending, salaries took up about 78% in 2017 and 77% in 2018. Technology spending went up from 13% to 16%, and spending on buildings and transport went down from 9% to 7%. These figures show that most of the budget in both years went towards paying staff, while a smaller amount was gradually moved from buildings and transport into new technology instead, reflecting a slow but steady shift in spending priorities.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports both tables' figures accurately with a basic overview, but the overview does not clearly connect the technology increase with the buildings-and-transport decrease the way the higher-band answers do.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised by table, though figures are listed with fairly plain connecting language throughout.

Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task; figures are accurate but connecting language stays fairly plain throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate, mostly simple sentence structures; meaning is always clear.

Band 6.5

154 words

The figures are all correct, but agreement errors appear in almost every sentence.

The two table show the police budget for 2017 and 2018 in one area of Britain, including where the money come from and how it was spend.

Overall, the total budget increase from 2017 to 2018, and most of the money in both year was spend on salary.

The national government give the most money in both year, rising a little from £175.5m to £177.8m. Local tax went up more, from £91.2m to £102.3m. The total budget grow from £304.7m to £318.6m.

For spending, salary take up about 78% in 2017 and 77% in 2018. Technology spending go up from 13% to 16%, and spending on building and transport go down from 9% to 7%. This figure show that most of the budget in both year went towards paying staff, while a smaller amount was gradually move from building and transport into new technology instead, reflecting a slow but steady shift in spending priority.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports both tables' figures accurately, matching the content of the band 7 answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised by table, following the same structure as the higher-band answers.

Lexical Resource: Limited by "table", "year", and "building" being used without their plural forms throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("budget increase", "salary take up", "spending go up") appear in nearly every sentence.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

35 words

No exact figures appear anywhere in the report, and the two separate tables are never properly distinguished.

This table show police money in 2017 and 2018.

Government give money and police spend it, this is good use of tax I think.

Salary is biggest part, this is my opinion about this table.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: No exact figures are given for any funding source or spending category besides one vague reference to salaries, and a personal opinion is inserted, which has no place in a Task 1 report. At well under 150 words, the response is also underlength.

Coherence & Cohesion: Reads as three short, disconnected remarks rather than an organised comparison across both tables.

Lexical Resource: Vague, repetitive vocabulary ("give money", "spend it") used instead of the specific figures given in the tables.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("this table show", "government give money").

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These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.