Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-03

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 chart depicts the statistics of the weekly income spent by the families in a country in the years 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the chart consists of list of sources where families spend their monthly income which are food, housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure respectively. Among all the activities food has been the major expenditure for most of the families in the year 1968, whereas fuel and power were had least percent of spending in a week.

It is clear from the chart that the spending on food was nearly double than other activities by the families with 35 percent in the year 1968. On the other hand, the expenditure on housing and clothing and footware were almost same with 10 percent of spending each in the consecutive year by the families. Additionally, the spendings of the families on the household goods were merely similar in both the years.

Moreover, leisure activity had the highest spending by families in the year 2018. Fuel and power had the lowest amount of spending in both the years. The weekly expense on household goods as well as personal goods had the same percentage of spendings in the year 1968 with 7 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the chart, identifying key trends such as the decline in food expenditure and the rise in leisure spending. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For instance, you mention that 'expenditure on housing and clothing and footware were almost same' in the 'consecutive year', which is confusing and inaccurate based on the data. Additionally, the report lacks a clear, comparative overview of the most significant shifts between 1968 and 2018. To improve, ensure that your comparisons are precise and that you highlight the most dramatic changes rather than listing individual data points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover'. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. For example, the phrase 'in the consecutive year' is used incorrectly to refer to 2018. Furthermore, the referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison between the two years. Improving the variety and accuracy of your linking words will help create a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'expenditure', 'statistics', and 'major'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'footware' (spelled 'footwear'), 'merely similar', and 'fuel and power were had least percent'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your report. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary is used in the correct grammatical context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the chart consists of list of sources', 'food has been the major expenditure', and 'spending on food was nearly double than other activities'. These errors, particularly with articles and comparative structures, occur throughout the text. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and the correct use of comparative adjectives (e.g., 'double that of' instead of 'double than').

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.