Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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 provided chart provides information on how families in one country used their weekly income between 1968 to 2018.

Overall, it can be seen that the average weekly spending on food in the initial period was the highest among all other categories, followed by leisure in the last period, whereas fuel and power recorded the lowest in both periods.

In 1968, average spending on leisure stood at below 10% in 1968 and surged to around 23% 2018. Meanwhile, housing represented approximately 10%, before soaring to just below 20% in 2018. In contrast, transport

Clothing and footware recorded approximately 10% in 1968 and later dwindled to about 5% in 2018, whereas personal goods stood just under 10% in 1968, before diminishing to below 5% in 2018. Food recorded a figure of 35% in 1968, before experiencing a plunge in 2018 to about 16%. In contrast, fuel and power accounted for above 5% in 1968 and declined slightly to around 3%, making it the least in all categories, whereas household goods had the same figure of around 7% in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the chart well, identifying the significant shifts in spending patterns between 1968 and 2018. You successfully highlighted the dramatic rise in leisure and housing costs alongside the sharp decline in food expenditure. However, there is a notable omission: the sentence starting with 'In contrast, transport' is incomplete, leaving a key category unaddressed. While the overall trends are clear and the data is generally accurate, this incomplete sentence prevents a fully developed response. To reach a higher band, ensure all categories mentioned in the prompt are fully described and compared.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'meanwhile', 'in contrast', and 'whereas' to link ideas. However, the cohesion is disrupted by the incomplete sentence in the third paragraph, which creates a jarring break in the flow of information. Additionally, while the paragraphing is generally appropriate, the transition between the third and fourth paragraphs could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the structural error significantly impacts the overall coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the trends, using words like 'surged', 'dwindled', 'diminishing', and 'plunge' effectively to describe the data. There is some repetition of 'recorded' and 'stood', but the range is adequate for the task. You show an awareness of style appropriate for an academic report. There are no significant spelling errors, and the vocabulary used is precise enough to communicate the trends clearly, despite the minor issues with sentence structure elsewhere in the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'while housing represented approximately 10%, before soaring to just below 20%'. Most sentences are clear, and the grammar is generally accurate. However, the incomplete sentence 'In contrast, transport' is a major grammatical failure that leaves the reader hanging. There are also minor issues with preposition usage and sentence completion. While you show the ability to use complex structures, the presence of an unfinished sentence and occasional minor errors limit the score, as the majority of sentences are not entirely error-free.

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