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 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 6.5

The student covers all the key features of the chart across both years, successfully providing an overview and selecting relevant data points for comparison. The main trends—such as the significant decrease in food spending and the rise in leisure and housing—are correctly identified and supported with accurate figures from the chart (e.g., food falling from 35% to 17%, leisure rising from 9% to 22%). The overview is clearly stated in the second paragraph, contrasting increasing and decreasing categories effectively. Minor data reporting is accurate and aligns well with the visual source. This performance fully meets the requirements for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organised with a clear introduction, an overall summary paragraph, and two body paragraphs dividing the data into decreasing and increasing trends. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 1968', 'On the other hand', and 'Whereas' are used to guide the reader through the comparisons, though some transitional phrasing feels slightly mechanical (e.g., 'Followed by fuel and power that was...'). Referencing is mostly clear, though a few relative clauses are awkwardly attached, which slightly disrupts the smooth flow of information. Overall progression is clear, supporting a Band 6.5 or solid Band 7.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate and mostly accurate range of vocabulary suited to academic task 1 writing, employing useful terms such as 'expenditures', 'significant decline', 'consistent', and 'proportion' (implied). There are appropriate attempts at less common phrasing, such as 'became nearly double' and 'went to approximately'. However, there are minor lexical and spelling inaccuracies, notably 'footware' (footwear) and awkward phrasing in sentence constructions like 'the spending in housing... has been increased' instead of 'increased'. Despite these minor slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the information clearly, earning a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative forms ('became nearly double that was almost 19%'). However, there are notable grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as passive/active confusion ('has been increased' instead of 'has increased'), subject-verb agreement issues ('expenditures... has shown'), and dangling fragments ('Followed by fuel and power that was almost 6%'). While these errors do not impede overall communication and the reader can easily follow the data, they prevent the text from achieving a higher band. Control of grammar is generally adequate for Band 6.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.