Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart compares the average weekly spending by families in a particular country in two distinct years, 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is clear that the spending in housing, transport and leisure has been increased over the years while the expenditures in other categories has shown a significant decline. However, the expenses on household goods remained same.

In 1968, the maximum spending was on food at 35% which fell to around 17% in 2018. Followed by fuel and power that was almost 6% in 1968 and decreased to around 4% in 2018. Similarly, the clothing and footware showed a 50% decline which was 10% in 1968. Lastly, the cost on personal goods reduced to approximately 4% in 2018 that was nearly 8% in 1968.

On the other hand, the cost on housing became nearly double that was almost 19% which was 10% in 1968. The cost on transport rose to around 14% that was 8% in 1968. The leisure expenditures also went to approximately 22% in 2018 in comparison to 1968 which was around 9%. Whereas, household goods remained consistent in both years around 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by selecting, reporting, and comparing the main features of the chart. An appropriate overall trend is provided in the second paragraph, noting that spending in housing, transport, and leisure increased, while other categories declined. Key data points are accurately cited from the visual, such as food dropping from 35% in 1968 to 17% in 2018, and leisure rising to 22%. Minor details like household goods remaining consistent at 8% are also correctly highlighted. The response covers all data categories across both years without major omissions or factual errors, fulfilling the requirements for a high band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introduction outlining the chart's purpose, followed by a concise overview paragraph, and then detailed body paragraphs that logically group declining categories versus increasing ones. Paragraphing is used appropriately and effectively. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In 1968', 'On the other hand', and 'Whereas'. Although some transitions are slightly mechanical, the logical relationship between sentences and paragraphs is clear throughout, meeting the criteria for a solid score in this category.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suited to Task 1 requirements, using terms such as 'expenditures', 'significant decline', 'consistent', and 'proportion'. There are some minor lexical or collocation slips, such as saying 'spending... has been increased' (passive/active confusion) and 'cost on housing' instead of 'spending on housing'. Spelling is generally accurate, although 'footware' contains a typo (footwear). Vocabulary use is sufficient to convey precise data comparisons clearly, though slightly more variety in reporting verbs and structures would push the score higher.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and comparative structures (e.g., 'the cost on housing became nearly double that was almost 19%'). There are some grammatical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'the spending in housing, transport and leisure has been increased' and 'the expenditures in other categories has shown' (subject-verb agreement error). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the meaning of every sentence remains entirely clear. Control of punctuation is generally good.

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