Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14

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 given bar chart provides information about how families usually spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, families mostly spend their money for daily needs like food or transport. In modern era, leisure has highest percentage of weekly income, on the other hand, in the past food was placed on the first place.

As is shown in the graph, the average weekly spending by families for food was over 35% in 1968, but in 2018 the percentage of spending decreased dramatically to over 17%. Housing had about 10% in 1968 and increased to just over 19% in 2018. Families average weekly spending on fuel and power was the lowest among the others with just about 6% and 4% in 1968 and 2018, respectively. Clothing and footware had over 10% in 1968, and decreased to 5% in 2018.

The average weekly spending by families for household goods was over 7% in 1968 and did not change in the future. Personal goods also had about 7% in 1968, but in 2018 it declined to over 4%. The tansport also had just over 7% like the last two models in 1968, and had increased significantly to about 14%. In addition, the families had spend on leisure about 7% of income, and the percentage grew sharply to over 22% in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by selecting, reporting, and comparing the main features of the chart. In the overview, the student correctly highlights the major shift from food expenditure in 1968 to leisure spending in 2018. Specific data points are cited to support the key trends, such as food decreasing from over 35% to 17% and housing increasing from 10% to just over 19%. Key comparisons are made across the two years for all categories, such as transport growing significantly to 14%. While some expressions of proportion could be more precise (e.g., writing 'over 17%' instead of exact figures where possible), all main features are accurately represented, earning a solid Band 7.0 for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response features a clear logical organization and progression throughout. The writing is divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific categories. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to connect ideas, such as 'In modern era', 'on the other hand', 'As is shown in the graph', and 'In addition'. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical or slightly flawed, as seen in phrases like 'did not change in the future' (referring to past data) and repetitive sentence openings in the final paragraph. Paragraphing is used appropriately, grouping the categories logically. Overall, the coherence meets the criteria for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to data trends such as 'decreased dramatically', 'increased significantly', and 'grew sharply'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some word choices and spelling show minor inaccuracies, such as 'footware' instead of 'footwear' and 'tansport' instead of 'transport'. Furthermore, phrases like 'did not change in the future' and 'families had spend' indicate minor lexical and grammatical slips. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning clearly, supporting a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures such as relative or comparative clauses ('while', 'as is shown in'). There are several noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense and preposition issues such as 'mostly spend their money for daily needs', 'leisure has highest percentage', and 'the families had spend on leisure about 7%'. Despite these recurring errors in grammar and prepositions, they rarely impede communication, and the overall meaning remains clear. This performance aligns well with the descriptors for a Band 6.0.

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

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