Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-15

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 provided chart illustrates changes in one country's families spent their weekly expense over a 40 year period between 1968 and 2018. The units measured in percentage (%).

Overall, there was a significant decrease in the figures such as food, clothing, fuel, and personal goods over the 40-year period. Additionally, Household good remained the same percentage of weekly expense in both years.

In 1968, families who spent their weekly income in figure of food made up the primary contributor at 35%. However, this figure dropped drastically to just around 16% in 2018. In contrast, the figure like Leisure experienced the most dramatic growth, rising from around 9% to peak at approximately 22% in 2018, making it the dominant category. Regarding the remaining categories, the figures for housing saw an increase of almost 9%, reaching 19% by 2018. conversely, the percentage of clothing and footware experienced a slight decline from 10% to 5%. Meanwhile, the percentage of household good remained completely unchaged, staying at approximately 7% in both years between 1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all major trends shown in the chart, highlighting key changes such as the drop in food spending and the rise in leisure expenses. An overview is provided, noting the general decrease in categories like food, clothing, fuel, and personal goods. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting specific data points (e.g., stating the period is 40 years instead of 50 years—from 1968 to 2018—and minor discrepancies in numbers, such as household goods staying at 7% or 8%). Furthermore, the chart spans 50 years, not 40. Despite these minor data inaccuracies, the main features are adequately reported and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and body paragraph detailing specific categories. Cohesive devices are used effectively to signal contrasts and comparisons (e.g., 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'Regarding', 'conversely', 'Meanwhile'). Paragraphing is appropriate, and there is a clear logical progression throughout the text, guiding the reader smoothly from general trends to specific numerical comparisons.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items and phrases such as 'primary contributor', 'dropped drastically', 'most dramatic growth', and 'dominant category'. However, there are some noticeable vocabulary and word choice errors, such as 'families spent their weekly expense' (instead of expenditure), 'Household good' (singular/plural mismatch), and spelling/capitalization slips like 'unchaged' and 'conversely'. These errors do not impede overall communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative forms ('families who spent...', 'making it the dominant category'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing instances, such as 'changes in one country's families spent their weekly expense', 'The units measured in percentage', and 'figures for housing saw an increase'. Punctuation and capitalization are occasionally faulty (e.g., starting a sentence with 'conversely' in lowercase). However, these errors do not obstruct the reader's understanding.

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