Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-31

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 illustrates percentages of average weekly spending by families on various activities and compares the same in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the spending over food, clothing and personal goods had declined considerably, While the percentages for weekly spending on housing, transport and leisure rose over the time.In addition, percentage for spending on household goods remained stable.

In 1968 spending on food was at 35% of weekly income which reduced at 18% in 2018. Similarly, weekly spending on clothing mg and footware declined to half reaching from 10% in 1968 to 5% in 2018. Same trend was observed for weekly spending on personal goods which reduced significantly in 2018.

By contrast, the percentage for weekly income spent on leisure rose dramatically reaching from 8% in 1968 to 22% in 2018. This was followed by a substantial rise in percentage of weekly income spent on transport increasing from 8% in 1968 to 14% in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all key features of the data and provides a clear overview. You successfully identified the main trends, such as the decline in food and clothing spending versus the rise in leisure and transport. However, the report is slightly incomplete as it fails to mention the 'fuel and power' category, which is a significant part of the chart. To reach a higher band, ensure all categories are at least briefly referenced or grouped to provide a comprehensive summary. The data is generally accurate, though the comparison could be more detailed by including specific figures for all mentioned categories.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'By contrast', and 'Similarly' to link ideas effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the declining trends from the rising ones. However, the flow could be improved by avoiding repetitive sentence structures. The referencing is generally clear, though the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother to enhance the overall progression of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'considerably', 'dramatically', and 'substantial'. There are some minor errors, such as 'clothing mg and footware' (spelling) and 'spending over food' (preposition error; it should be 'spending on food'). While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, these occasional inaccuracies prevent a higher score. Focusing on precise collocations and ensuring spelling accuracy will help you achieve a higher band in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'reduced at 18%' (should be 'reduced to 18%') and 'reaching from 8%... to 22%' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally functional, but there is a missing space after a period in the first paragraph. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of complex structures with greater accuracy.

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