Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-14

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 demostrates information about how families in one country expendature their weekly income, between 1968 and 2018, figure gives in percentage.

Overall, the highest money spend on food was on earlier year, while leisure become highest layout later. There was a significant fall on food, clothing and personal goods, whereas housing, transport and leisure sac clear increase.

In 1968, food was the highest at 35% of weekly income, followed by housing and clothing and footware at 10%. Similarly, the lowest expenditure on fuel and power around 7%.

In 2018, spending on housing rose from just 10% to almost 19%, becoming the second largest category in 2018. Transport cost also doubled from 8% to 14%. the most highest increse was in leisure, which surged from just 8% in 1968 to 22% in 2018, becoming the highest category in the year.

Household goods remained stable, accounting for 7% in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response identifies the main contrast accurately: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure became the largest in 2018, and it highlights the rise in housing and transport. It also gives relevant figures, including food at 35% and leisure at 22%. The overview is clear, and the selected comparisons are generally well supported. However, there are a few factual inconsistencies: leisure is reported as 8% in 1968, whereas the chart shows 9%, and household goods are described as 7% in both years, rather than 8%. The claim that clothing and personal goods fell is valid, but their 2018 figures are omitted. More precise reporting of these details would make the coverage more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction and overview are followed by details for 1968 and then 2018. This makes the main comparison easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In 1968,” and “In 2018” help signal the stages. The overview also groups the main rises and falls effectively. However, the organisation is somewhat list-like, with limited comparison between years within the same category, and the final sentence about household goods feels added on rather than integrated into the comparison. There is also an awkward transition in “Similarly, the lowest expenditure…” because it does not clearly connect to the preceding figures. More consistent grouping of related changes would strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “expenditure,” “rose,” “doubled,” “surged,” and “remained stable.” These choices help communicate the main trends. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “demostrates,” “expendature,” “footware,” “increse,” and “sac clear increase.” Some expressions are also unnatural or redundant, such as “highest money spend” and “the most highest increase.” Use standard collocations such as “the largest share was spent on” and “increased significantly.” A more accurate range of terms for proportions and changes, with careful spelling, would make the description clearer and more appropriate for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts a mix of sentence forms, including a complex overview with “whereas” and comparisons using “from…to…”. The meaning is generally recoverable, but grammatical control is uneven. For example, “Overall, the highest money spend on food was on earlier year” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “leisure become highest layout later” has problems with tense and sentence construction. In “the most highest increse was in leisure,” the superlative construction is faulty; “the highest increase was in leisure” would be more accurate. Capitalisation after the full stop in “2018. the most…” also needs attention. Practise complete, well-formed comparison sentences and check tense consistency, articles, and punctuation.

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