Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-27

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 bar chart illustrates how families manage their weekly salary between 1968 and 2018 in one country.

Overall, it is evident that spending money on food and leisure categories are clearly high demonstrated whereas the use of fuel and power were not sufficient in this graph

Initially, there were the same percentage of weekly income (about 8 percent) for household goods from 1968 to 2018 which meant the furnitures in the house were not modified during the period of 50 years.

Secondly, the spending money on food (35 percent), housing (10 percent), clothing and footware (10 percent) were highly evaluated in 1968 while the use of leisure (22 percent), housing (about 19 percent), transport (14 percent) were spent more than the others in 2018. In general, although spending weekly salary by families were top on category of food and housing then, it hit the peak on leisure, housing, clothing and footware in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the chart, but the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you identify key trends, some interpretations are inaccurate or illogical, such as the claim that 'furnitures in the house were not modified' based on the percentage of spending on household goods. This is an over-interpretation of the data. Additionally, the summary of the 2018 data is slightly confusing, as you list categories that were not necessarily the highest. To improve, focus on reporting the data accurately without inferring external reasons for the changes, and ensure you clearly contrast the two years by highlighting the most significant shifts, such as the decline in food expenditure versus the rise in leisure.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and unclear transitions. For example, the use of 'Initially' and 'Secondly' feels mechanical and does not accurately reflect the chronological nature of the data (1968 vs 2018). The referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to distinguish between the two time periods in the final paragraph. To improve, use more sophisticated cohesive devices to link your comparisons, such as 'In contrast to 1968, the year 2018 saw a significant increase in...' rather than relying on simple list-like transitions.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors. For example, 'highly evaluated' is not appropriate for describing statistical data; 'significant' or 'substantial' would be better. Similarly, 'top on category' is non-standard. You also have some spelling errors, such as 'footware' instead of 'footwear'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'accounted for', 'fluctuated', or 'experienced a decline', and ensure you check the spelling of common terms related to the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'spending... were top') and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'the use of fuel and power were not sufficient'). The sentence 'it hit the peak on leisure, housing, clothing and footware' is grammatically confusing as it implies multiple categories hit a single peak. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensure that your sentence structures are grammatically sound. Proofreading for basic errors like pluralisation and verb tense consistency will significantly improve your score.

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