Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26

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 chart compare the proportion of average weekly spendings of residents in a country, in year 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the highest expenditure of families in 1968 is food, whereas in 2018 the highest spendings of housueholds accounted for leisure. The smallest part of the income spend on fuel and power in both years.The overall consumption of the income on things decreases other than housing, transport and leisure. While for household goods remained same in both years.

The food took 35% of the income in 1968 which dramatically declined in 2018 and accounted for about 17%. The percentage of income used for fuel and power was about 6% decreased slightly and in 2018 it was 4%. Clothing and footware also experienced decline in its spending from 10% in 1968 to 5% in 2018. Personal goods consumption rate was about 8% in 1968 and in 2018 it fell and remained half 4%.

On the other hand, Housing faced huge raise in 2018 and about doubled in its consumption rate from 10% in 1968 to 19% in 2018. Transport spendings also increased in 2018, 8% in 1968 to 14% in 2018. Leisure faced a huge increase in its weekly spendings, in 1968 8% accounted for 22% in 2018.

In contrast, the household goods remained unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key features of the chart, including the main trends and specific data points for both 1968 and 2018. You successfully identified the shift in the highest expenditure categories and noted the stability of household goods. However, the overview is slightly cluttered with too much detail, such as mentioning specific categories like 'fuel and power' in the summary paragraph. To reach a higher band, the overview should focus on the most significant trends (e.g., the shift from essential spending like food to lifestyle spending like leisure) without including specific figures. The data is generally accurate, though the comparison could be more analytical.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from general trends to specific category comparisons. You use some cohesive devices like 'On the other hand' and 'In contrast' effectively. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by grouping the categories more logically (e.g., those that increased vs. those that decreased). Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel slightly disjointed due to repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'expenditure,' 'proportion,' and 'consumption rate.' There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'spendings' (which is usually uncountable as 'spending') and 'huge raise' (should be 'significant increase'). You also have some spelling errors like 'housueholds' and 'footware.' To improve, try to use more precise collocations and ensure you are using the correct forms of nouns and verbs. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The bar chart compare') and missing articles ('The food took 35%'). Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'remained half 4%,' which is unclear. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your comparative structures are grammatically sound.

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

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