Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-14

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 graph compares the average weekly spendings by families of a nation in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, most of the weekly spendings were on the food in 1968, whereas leisure activities occupied the highest position in 2018. The least expenditure was done on fuel and power in the both years

In 1968, food was the highly consumed category, 35% of weekly income was used. However, nearly 7% of income was spent on fuel and power. A similar proportion of 10% of income was spend on housing, clothing and footware, while the figure showed a drop of around 3% in case of housing goods, personal goods and transport.

In 2018, the pattern decreased dramatically to about 17% in food category, paradoxically in housing it rose to nearly 19%. The expenditure of income on personal goods, fuel and power, clothing and footware was approximately at 5%. The figure climbed to around 19% in housing category.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview. You highlighted the shift from food to leisure and correctly noted the low expenditure on fuel and power. However, the report lacks precision in some areas. For instance, you mention that housing, clothing, and footwear were at 10% in 1968, but the data for these categories varies significantly. Additionally, the description of 2018 is slightly confusing, as you repeat the housing figure twice with different percentages. To improve, ensure that every figure cited is accurate according to the chart and avoid repetitive or contradictory statements. The overall summary is effective, but more careful data selection would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'however', and 'in contrast' to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by ensuring each paragraph focuses on a distinct theme or time period. The transition between the 1968 and 2018 data is clear, but the internal structure of the second body paragraph is slightly disjointed due to the repetitive mention of housing. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring clear referencing would help improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'expenditure', 'proportion', and 'consumed'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'spendings' (the noun 'spending' is usually uncountable) and 'highly consumed category' (which sounds unnatural). You also use 'paradoxically' in a way that does not quite fit the context of the data. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding the pluralization of uncountable nouns. Your spelling is generally accurate, but the vocabulary remains somewhat limited in its ability to describe trends with high precision.

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 several grammatical errors, such as 'spendings' instead of 'spending', 'in the both years' (should be 'in both years'), and 'was spend' (should be 'was spent'). Additionally, there are some issues with subject-verb agreement and preposition usage. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to verb forms (past participles) and ensure that your sentence structures are grammatically sound, particularly when describing statistical changes.

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

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