Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

below shows the value of one country’s exports in various categories during 2015 and 2016. The table shows the percentage change in each category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.

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

Student answer (Band 6.0)

​The table illustrates the source of funding for the police force in a region of Britain in 2017 and 2018, while the accompanying pie charts show how this budget was distributed across three main categories over the same period.

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​Overall, total police funding experienced a moderate increase over the two-year period, with the National Government remaining the single largest source of revenue. Regarding expenditure, the vast majority of funds was allocated to salaries, although the proportion spent on technology nearly doubled by 2018.

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​In 2017, the overall budget stood at £304.7 million. The primary source of income was the National Government, which provided £175.5 million, followed by Local Taxes at £91.2 million and other sources (such as grants) at £38 million.

​By 2018, total revenue rose to £318.6 million. Funding from Local Taxes saw the most notable increase, rising by £11.1 million to £102.3 million. Contributions from the National Government grew slightly to £177.8 million, while other sources recorded a marginal increase of £0.5 million to reach £38.5 million.

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​In terms of spending, salaries for officers and staff absorbed the largest share of the budget in both years, despite falling from 75% in 2017 to 69% in 2018. Conversely, the share allocated to technology nearly doubled, rising from 8% to 14%. Spending on buildings and transport remained constant at 17% a

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt provided data regarding export categories, but the student wrote about police funding and expenditure. While the structure, data reporting, and analytical style are excellent, the content does not address the task instructions at all. According to the IELTS criteria, a response that is off-topic must be penalised heavily in Task Achievement, as it fails to address the requirements of the prompt. Despite the high quality of the writing, the failure to engage with the provided data renders the task achievement score very low.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is well-organised with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Regarding', 'In terms of', and 'Conversely' is sophisticated and natural. Paragraphing is logical and contributes to the overall flow of the text. The progression of ideas is smooth, and referencing is clear throughout. If the content had matched the prompt, this would be a high-scoring response for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

The vocabulary is varied and precise, demonstrating a wide range of academic language. Phrases such as 'moderate increase', 'single largest source of revenue', 'allocated to', and 'marginal increase' are used accurately and effectively. The student demonstrates a high level of control over lexical items, including collocations, which allows for a fluent and professional tone throughout the piece.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response exhibits a wide range of complex structures used with high accuracy. The sentence construction is varied, and the grammar is largely error-free. There is a minor punctuation error at the very end of the text ('17% a'), but otherwise, the control over complex grammatical forms is excellent. The writing is fluent and demonstrates a high level of grammatical competence.

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