Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart provides data related to families who spent their weekly income in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, expenditure of families on leisure, transport, and housing increased after five decades. In other cases income consumed less than before half a century, with one exception of a household with the same proportion after fifty years.

In 1968, the highest proportion of weekly income was spent on food, with 35%, followed by housing and clothing, each with a 20% share. Additionally, share of leisure accounted for 9% as compared to transport, personal goods, and household goods with 8% for each category. Fuel and power had the least proportion, around 6%.

In 2018, there was a significant decrease of spent income on food from 35% in 1968 to around 16% after five decades. Leisure accounted for around 22% as compared to housing and transport with around 20% and around 15%, respectively. Personal goods and fuel had a joint share of around 5% each. Clothing had a share of 5%, while household goods share remain unchanged after fifty years with around 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all key features of the data, including the significant shifts in spending patterns between 1968 and 2018. You successfully identified the major trends, such as the decline in food expenditure and the rise in leisure costs. The overview provides a clear summary of the main changes, which is essential for a high band score. However, the report could be improved by ensuring all data points are accurate; for instance, the description of household goods remaining unchanged is slightly inaccurate based on the chart, and some comparisons could be more precise to better highlight the contrast between the two years.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on the two distinct years. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'In 1968', 'In 2018', and 'Additionally', which help guide the reader. To reach a higher band, try to vary your linking phrases further and ensure that the transition between sentences feels more natural rather than mechanical. The paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the overall clarity of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'expenditure', 'proportion', and 'category' correctly. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'income consumed less than before' (which is slightly awkward phrasing) and 'share remain unchanged' (which should be 'remained'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating more precise collocations or varied synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would elevate the quality of your writing and demonstrate a more sophisticated control of language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'expenditure of families... increased' (missing article) and 'share remain unchanged' (tense error). Additionally, phrases like 'with one exception of a household' are slightly unidiomatic. You have good control over basic structures, but to achieve a higher band, you should aim for more error-free complex sentences and ensure consistent subject-verb agreement and correct article usage throughout the text.

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

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