Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-09

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 6.0)

The chart illustrates how families spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018. The data are given in percentage (from 0% to 40%) of the weekly income by a average family.

Overall, the chart has eight different categories including food, housing and transport. The chart shows that a family in 1968 spent 35% of their weekly income for food (in 2019 it was slightly over 16%). The other categories in 1968 were all under 10% (except for housing there it was exactly 10% of the weekly income).

In 2019 the results changed, the average weekly spending was approximately 22% for Leisure in 2019, while the households spent under 20% for housing and food (for housing approximately 18% and for food 16%). The spending in all the other categories was under 10% in 2019.

Compared to 1968, the average family in 2019 spent the most of its money for Leisure and Housing, while the average family in 1968 spent most of it's money for Food. What particularly stands out is that the spending on categories like fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods and personal good was all under 10% in 1968 and 2018.

All in all, the pattern of the average weekly spending changed a lot in 2018 compared to 1968 especially regarding different categories.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s subject and report several important features, especially the sharp fall in food spending and the prominence of leisure and housing in the later year. Your comparisons are generally grounded in the data, and you note that several smaller categories remained below 10%. However, the chart is for 2018, not 2019, and this incorrect year is repeated throughout. Some details are also incomplete: for example, transport rose to 14%, so it was not under 10% in 2018. The overview that spending “changed a lot” is broad; a clearer summary would highlight the shift from food to leisure and housing, alongside the rise in transport. These omissions and inaccuracies leave some features less fully addressed than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a summary of the earlier figures, discussion of the later pattern, and a concluding comparison. This makes the main direction of the report easy to follow. You also use linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Compared to 1968,” and “All in all.” However, the final paragraph largely repeats the comparison already made, while the overview paragraph includes detailed figures rather than establishing the main trends efficiently. Some connections are awkward, particularly the parenthetical comparisons and the sentence beginning “What particularly stands out,” which combines several categories without explaining their relative changes. More purposeful paragraphing and less repetition would make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “categories,” “approximately,” and “compared to,” so the chart is generally described clearly. There are also attempts to vary wording through “spent,” “spending,” and “results changed.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for a data report: “the results changed” is vague, and “spent the most of its money for” is an awkward collocation. There are spelling and word-form slips in “footware” and “personal good,” and “a average family” is also an inaccurate phrase. Aim for precise terms such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “expenditure,” while checking spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple statements and more complex comparisons, including the parenthetical detail in “for housing approximately 18% and for food 16%.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the response includes some subordinate structures. However, several grammatical errors remain. In “given in percentage … by a average family,” the article and sentence construction are faulty; “a family … spent 35% of their weekly income” also shifts between singular and plural reference. The phrase “there it was exactly 10%” is not correctly formed, and “it's money” uses a contraction where a possessive is needed. Check articles, pronoun agreement, and sentence boundaries, and use a consistent past-tense frame when describing the two years.

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