Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-13

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 pie chart illustrates information about the average weekly spending by families during 1968 to 2018

Overall at the beginning of the period food accounted for the highest proportion of weekly spending whereas fuel and power contributed the least. By the end of the period leisure emerged as the dominant, while personal goods recorded the lowest spent.

As the chart shows, food registered 35% in 1968, decreasing significantly to just below 20% in 2018.

However fuel and power and personal goods spending declined moderately above 5% and more than 5% to below 5% and under 5% ,respectively

By contrast, leisure rose sharply from under 10% to more than 20% in 2018, making it the leading spending category by families, while transport increased marginally from just under 10% to slightly below 15%.

Regarding household goods, its share remained stable at under 10%.

This shift reflects the ongoing diversification of weekly income, with a growing focus on spending on food, housing, and leisure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the charts well, identifying the key trends such as the decline in food expenditure and the rise in leisure spending. You have successfully made comparisons between the two years. However, the report lacks a clear overview of the total spending categories, and some data points are described vaguely (e.g., 'moderately above 5%'). To reach a higher band, ensure that all categories are clearly accounted for and that the overview highlights the most significant shifts rather than just listing individual changes. The final sentence is slightly inaccurate as it mentions 'housing' and 'diversification', which are not clearly supported by the provided data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'by contrast', and 'regarding', which help the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, and the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the connection between the final summary sentence and the preceding data is weak, as it introduces new concepts not explicitly shown in the chart.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'accounted for', 'dominant', and 'marginally'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'lowest spent' (should be 'lowest expenditure') and 'fuel and power and personal goods spending declined moderately above 5%'. The phrasing in the fourth paragraph is repetitive and slightly confusing. To improve, focus on using more precise nouns and collocations to describe statistical changes, and ensure that your terminology remains consistent throughout the report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical errors, particularly with punctuation and sentence structure, such as the missing period after '2018' in the introduction and the awkward phrasing in the fourth paragraph. Some sentences are slightly disjointed. While these errors do not impede communication, they do prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and refining the use of commas and conjunctions to create more fluid, error-free complex sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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