Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-28

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 chart illustrates percentage of how familied in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, it is clear that in 1968 roughly one third of the families income were spent on food but the number shrink significantly in 2018. Clothing and footware and personal goods also experienced substantial drop over the period. In comparison, income spend on leisure skyrocketed dominantly in 2018. Furthermore, housing figure also nearly doubled in 2018.

According to the bar graph, 35% of average weekly spending by families were spent on buying food in 1968 before falling dramatically 17% in 2018. Likewise, 10% of income were spent on clothing and footware in 1968, after which the figure is cut in half to 5% in 2018. In addition, personal goods figure is also halved from approximately 8% in 1968 to nearly 4% in 2018.

On the other hand, income spent on leisure almost tripled from roughly 8% in 1968 to 23% in 2018. Household goods number which is about 7% has remained the same from 1968 to 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You highlighted the significant shifts in food, leisure, and housing expenditure, which effectively covers the key features of the chart. However, to reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are accurate; for instance, you mentioned that household goods remained the same, but the chart indicates a slight change. Additionally, ensure that your comparisons are precise. Overall, you have addressed the requirements of the task well by selecting and reporting the most relevant information.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'In comparison,' 'Furthermore,' and 'On the other hand' to guide the reader through the data. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from general trends to specific details. To improve, ensure that referencing is always precise; for example, 'the figure' is used frequently, which can occasionally make the connection to the specific category slightly repetitive. Overall, the paragraphing is effective and supports the logical flow of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'skyrocketed,' 'experienced substantial drop,' and 'falling dramatically' are appropriate for describing trends in a report. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as 'familied' (should be 'families') and 'footware' (should be 'footwear'). While you attempt to use varied vocabulary, some terms are slightly repetitive. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would help elevate your score further.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'families income were spent' should be 'families' income was spent') and missing prepositions (e.g., 'falling dramatically 17%' should be 'falling dramatically to 17%'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede the overall communication of the data. To improve, focus on proofreading for articles and pluralization, as these small slips occur throughout the text.

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