Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-11

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 compares the percentage spending of weekly income of families in 1968 and 2018. The chart compares 8 parameters. The parameters show variable trends, 3 have increased and 4 have decreased, but only household goods remain stable at 7% in both 1968 and 2018.

Food fell less than half, which is the largest drop among all parameters from 35% of the total income to around 17%. Clothing and footwear and personal goods followed the same trend falling from 10% in 1968 to 5% in 2018 and 8% in 1968 to 4% in 2018 respectively. Fuel and power dropped from 6% to 4% displaying the least change amongst the 8 parameters.

Leisure displayed the biggest jump from 9% in 1968 to 24% in 2018. followed by housing which grew from 10% in 1968 to 19% 2018.the smallest jump was taken by Transport which witnessed a change of 8% with 6% in 1968 to 14% 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all key features of the chart, identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons. You successfully highlight the most significant changes, such as the decline in food expenditure and the rise in leisure spending. However, the overview is slightly mechanical, and the grouping of categories could be more sophisticated. While you mention that 3 categories increased and 4 decreased, this is a list-like approach. A more effective overview would synthesize the broader economic shift (e.g., the move from essential spending to discretionary spending). Despite this, the data is accurate and the task requirements are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction followed by body paragraphs grouping the data by trends (decreases vs. increases). Cohesive devices are used, such as 'followed by' and 'respectively', which help the flow. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs is abrupt, and the final paragraph contains some punctuation errors, such as missing periods and capitalization issues (e.g., '19% 2018.the smallest'). Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring consistent punctuation would elevate the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'parameters', 'witnessed a change', and 'discretionary' (implied). There is an attempt to use varied reporting verbs and phrases to describe trends. However, some phrasing is slightly repetitive, and there are minor inaccuracies in collocation. For example, 'the smallest jump was taken by Transport' is not a natural collocation; 'the smallest increase was seen in Transport' would be more precise. Expanding your repertoire of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would help improve the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips and punctuation errors. For instance, 'Food fell less than half' should be 'Food fell by less than half', and there are missing prepositions and capitalization errors in the final paragraph (e.g., '19% 2018.the'). These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for sentence boundaries and prepositional accuracy will significantly improve your score.

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

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