Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-25

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 7.0)

The bar chart presents how families in one country spent their weekly income in the years 1968 and 2018.

Overall, major portion of the weekly income was spent on food items in the 1900's while on leisure in the 2010's. The weekly income spent on household goods remained the same in both years presented.

Major portions of weekly income was spent on food in 1968 of about 35% and around 16% in 2018. On fuel and power around 6% of weeky income was spent in 1968 which dropped down to around 4% in 2018. Clothing and footware had 10% of weekly income spent in 1968 which declined to half in 2018. Around 8% of weekly income was spent on personal goods in 1968 before declining to below 5% in 2018.

On housing, 10% of income was spent in 1968 which rose to around 18% in 2018. Families spent around 7% of their weekly income on transport in 1968 as compared to around 14% spent in 2018. On leisure, families spent around 9% of their income in 1968 which increased to 22% in 2018. Around 7% of weekly income was spent by the families on household goods in both years 1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response effectively addresses the task by identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. You successfully highlighted the significant shift from food to leisure as the primary expenditure and noted the stability of household goods. The data is accurately reported, and the overview provides a clear summary of the key changes. To reach a higher band, ensure that you group the data more analytically rather than listing each category individually. For instance, you could group categories that increased (housing, transport, leisure) versus those that decreased (food, fuel, clothing, personal goods) to provide a more sophisticated synthesis of the information.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the data, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You used some cohesive devices, such as 'while', 'as compared to', and 'before declining to', which help link the information. However, the transition between sentences could be smoother. At times, the structure feels slightly repetitive (e.g., starting several sentences with 'Around X% of...'). Using a wider variety of linking phrases or referencing techniques would improve the flow and make the cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the data, including terms like 'expenditure', 'declined', 'rose', and 'remained the same'. The vocabulary is generally accurate and appropriate for an academic report. There are a few minor errors, such as 'footware' (spelled 'footwear') and '1900's' (which is imprecise for 1968). To improve, try to incorporate more varied synonyms for 'spent' or 'income' to avoid repetition. Using more precise collocations, such as 'accounted for' or 'experienced a significant rise', would demonstrate a more sophisticated control of lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the grammar is generally clear and communication is not impeded, there are some recurring errors. For example, 'Major portions of weekly income was spent' should be 'were spent' (subject-verb agreement), and 'in the 1900's' is grammatically awkward in this context. Additionally, some sentences could be more complex to demonstrate a wider range. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and ensuring consistent tense usage when describing historical data will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

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