Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-05

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 compares the average weekly spending of families in a country in 1968 and fifty years later in 2018.

Overall, food was the most prominent part of weekly spending in 1968, and the lowest percentage was used by fuel and power. However, in 2018, people spent more on leisure.

In 1968, spending on food was 35% of total weekly income, while in 2018, it decreased to approximately 17%, half of the percentage spent in the past. Moreover, in 1968, fuel and power consumed the lowest weekly income, and spending on personal goods, transport, and household goods remained at 7%. Additionally, on housing, clothing and footware, 10% of weekly income was used, while leisure consumed 8% of total income.

In 2018, expenses on leisure were the greatest (22%). In addition to this, weekly expense on housing increased to 16% compared to 1968. The percentage of weekly income utilized for personal goods, fuel and power were same at approximately 4%. The proportion of household goods spending remained the same. The spending on food and transport decreased to 16% and 5% respectively, while that of transport rose to 14%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key features of the chart and makes relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. You successfully identified the shift in spending priorities, such as the decline in food expenditure and the rise in leisure costs. However, there are some inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, you stated that transport spending rose to 14%, but the chart indicates a rise to 14% for transport, while your text mentions 'that of transport rose to 14%' after already mentioning it decreased to 5% earlier in the same sentence, creating confusion. Ensure data points are accurately transcribed to avoid misrepresenting the information provided.

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 time periods. You make good use of cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Moreover', and 'In addition to this' to link ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the years. To reach a higher band, ensure that the progression of ideas within paragraphs is smoother; currently, some sentences feel like a list of statistics rather than a cohesive analysis of trends. Improving the flow between individual data points would enhance the overall readability.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'most prominent part', 'consumed the lowest weekly income', and 'proportion of household goods' are used effectively. There are some minor errors, such as 'footware' (spelled 'footwear') and the slightly awkward phrasing 'utilized for personal goods, fuel and power were same'. While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, incorporating more sophisticated synonyms for 'spending' (e.g., 'expenditure', 'outlay', 'allocation') would help demonstrate a wider, more flexible range of lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. Most sentences are clear, though there are some grammatical slips, such as 'the lowest percentage was used by fuel and power' (passive voice usage is slightly awkward here) and 'the percentage of weekly income utilized for personal goods, fuel and power were same' (missing 'the' before 'same' and subject-verb agreement issues). Despite these occasional errors, your meaning is consistently clear, and the punctuation is generally accurate. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures would further improve your score.

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

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