Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-23

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 given bar graph compares the average weekly spending of their salary by families in a country across eight different categories in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is clear that there were significant changes in spending patterns over the fifty-year period, with reduce spent on food but increased allocation for housing, transport, and leisure activities. In addition, household goods remained equal spend in both years.

In 1968, the highest proportion of the weekly income, at about 35%, was spend on food, making it the greatest percentage in the chart. Other categories accounted for less than 10% of the total spending, except for housing and clothing and footware costs, which stood at exactly 10%.

In comparison, by 2018, while food costs still fell sharply to around 17%, leisure activities became a primary focus of spending, exceeding over 20%. Housing costs increased to over 15%, and transport expenses nearly doubled, rising from about 6% to over 12%. The remaining categories, including fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, and personal goods saw minor fluctuations over the fifty-year period, remaining below 10% of total weekly income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all requirements of the task. You have successfully identified the main trends, such as the significant decline in food expenditure and the rise in leisure and housing costs. The overview is clear and provides a good summary of the main features. You have also made relevant comparisons between the two years. To reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are accurate; for instance, you mentioned that household goods remained equal, but the chart shows a slight decrease. Additionally, ensure that all categories are clearly grouped or described to avoid minor inaccuracies in reporting the data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Each paragraph has a central focus, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You have used some cohesive devices effectively, such as 'In addition', 'In comparison', and 'while'. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect sentences more fluidly. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the information is presented in a way that is easy to follow throughout the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the trends, such as 'significant changes', 'proportion', 'fluctuations', and 'exceeding'. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'reduce spent' (should be 'reduced spending') and 'footware' (spelled 'footwear'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do prevent the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring accurate spelling of technical terms related to the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'was spend on' (should be 'was spent on') and 'remained equal spend' (should be 'remained at an equal level of spending'). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of passive voice constructions when describing data trends.

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

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