Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-22

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 6.5)

The bar chart illustrates the information of families weekly spending in a country from 1968 to 2018.

Overall, all families spent most of their income for foods in 1968. While spending for food,fuel and power, clothing and footware and personal goods decreased, spending for housing, transport and leisure increased over the given periods.

For the expenditure of food, there was a deep decline from roughly 35% in 1968 to approximately 18% in 2018. Regarding fuel and power, the figure experienced a decrease from approximately 7% to 4% over the period. Meanwhile, the percentage for clothing and footwear fell from nearly 10% to 5%, while the figure for personal goods decreased from roughly 8% to 4% with the given period.

In contrast, as for housing, the figure increased significantly, from approximately 10% in 1968 to 19% in 2018. Meanwhile, the spending on transport saw a massive rise from nearly 7% to 14%, while the figure for leisure experienced a significant increase from around 9% to 22% over the period .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task. You have identified the main trends and provided relevant comparisons between the two years. The overview clearly highlights the shift from food-dominated spending to increased expenditure on housing, transport, and leisure. The data is accurately reported, and the key features are well-selected. To reach a higher band, ensure that you avoid minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as the slight misinterpretation of the 'fuel and power' category, and ensure that the distinction between categories is always precise. Overall, the response provides a clear and well-supported summary of the provided chart.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organised with a clear progression of ideas. You have used paragraphing effectively to separate the overview from the detailed body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Meanwhile', and 'Regarding' are used appropriately to link sentences and ideas. The flow is smooth, and the information is easy to follow. To improve further, ensure that the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is slightly more integrated, and continue to use a variety of cohesive devices to avoid repetitive sentence structures. The overall arrangement is coherent and serves the purpose of the task well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information accurately. Phrases like 'deep decline', 'massive rise', and 'significant increase' demonstrate an ability to use descriptive language effectively. However, there are some minor word choice issues, such as 'illustrates the information of families weekly spending' (should be 'illustrates the weekly spending of families') and 'footware' (spelling error). To achieve a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure spelling is accurate. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' will also help to make your writing more sophisticated and varied.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response shows a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You have demonstrated control over basic grammar, and the errors present do not impede communication. For example, 'the figure experienced a decrease' is a well-constructed sentence. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'spent most of their income for foods' (should be 'on food') and 'with the given period' (should be 'over the given period'). To improve, focus on preposition usage and ensure that subject-verb agreement is consistent. Incorporating a wider variety of complex structures, such as relative clauses or participle phrases, would further enhance your grammatical range.

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

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