Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-03

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 compares the proportion of weekly income that families spent on different categories of goods and services in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, food was the biggest expense in 1968, but by 2018 families spent significantly less on food and more on housing, transport and leisure. Spending on several other categories declined over the 50-year period.

In 1968, nearly 38% of weekly income went on food, making it by far the largest category. This figure dropped sharply to about 18% in 2018. Similarly, spending on clothing and footwear, fuel and power, personal goods and household goods all fell. The most notable decreases were in clothing and footwear, from around 13% to 5%, and in personal goods, from 10% to 4%.

By contrast, there were considerable increases in three areas. Expenditure on housing rose from approximately 11% to 22%. Transport spending also doubled, from 9% to 18%. The most dramatic change was in leisure, which jumped from 9% to 23%, becoming the single largest category in 2018.

In summary, family spending patterns shifted from necessities such as food and clothing in 1968 towards housing, transport and leisure by 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response is excellent. It clearly identifies the main features of the data, such as the significant shift from food to leisure and housing. The overview is concise and effectively captures the primary trends. The student makes accurate comparisons between the two years, such as noting that transport spending doubled and leisure became the largest category. All parts of the prompt are addressed, and the data is used accurately to support the summary. The response is well-structured and provides a clear, logical overview of the changes over the 50-year period.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, body paragraphs, and a summary. Cohesive devices are used effectively to link ideas, such as 'Similarly', 'By contrast', and 'In summary'. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from the general overview to specific details about decreases and then increases. Each paragraph has a clear focus, and the referencing is precise, making the information easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is precise and appropriate for an academic report. The student uses a good range of topic-specific language, such as 'proportion of weekly income', 'expenditure', 'notable decreases', and 'dramatic change'. The word choices are natural and contribute to the clarity of the report. There are no noticeable errors in word choice or collocation, and the range is sufficient to convey the information with precision and style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a high level of grammatical control. A variety of sentence structures is used, including complex sentences that are error-free. Punctuation is accurate throughout. The majority of sentences are error-free, and the few structures used are handled with flexibility and precision. There are no grammatical slips that impede communication, and the overall control of language is very strong, consistent with a high-band performance.

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