Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-16

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 graph campares that how families in a specific country allocate the weekly income between the eight different categories during 1968 and 2018.

After observing the graph, in 1968, the major portion of the income was utilized for Food which had been cut to almost half in 2018. There was a significant increase in the Housing category in 2018 compare to 1968. The budget for Transport was also increased by around 6% in 2018. Allocation of income for Leisure activities was dramatically rose from 9% in 1968 to more than 20% in 2018.

Meanwhile, remaning four category had either remained stable or experencied a downfall. The amount of income spent on Household goods was nearly 7% which remained unchanged in 2018. The figure of income allocated for Clothing and footware & Personal goods had been reduced to half in 2018 compare to 1968. Reduction in the part of salary used for Fuel and power by 2% was seen in 2018.

Overall, it is clear that the priorities of the families had gradually changed in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the bar chart comparing weekly family spending in 1968 and 2018. An overview is provided at the end, and key trends are highlighted, such as the dramatic drop in food expenditure and the significant increases in housing and leisure. Comparisons between the two years are made accurately, citing specific figures (e.g., 35% for food in 1968, 9% to over 20% for leisure). While a few minor details (such as exact percentages for some unchanged categories) are slightly generalized, the response covers all categories well and meets all the core requirements for Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized logically into four paragraphs, following a clear introduction, two body paragraphs grouping the trends, and a concise concluding overview. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'After observing the graph', 'Meanwhile', and 'Overall'. However, there are minor cohesion and referencing issues, such as the phrase 'remaning four category had either remained stable', which contains a minor grammatical error and slight awkwardness in transition. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the most prominent changes to the stable or decreasing categories.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating less common functional terms such as 'allocate', 'proportion', and 'dramatically'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, including 'campares' instead of 'compares', 'remaning' instead of 'remaining', 'category' instead of 'categories', 'experencied' instead of 'experienced', and 'footware' instead of 'footwear'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching a higher band, reflecting a Band 6 level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over relative clauses and passive structures (e.g., 'the major portion of the income was utilized for Food which had been cut to almost half'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'campares that how families' (unnecessary 'that'), 'Housing category in 2018 compare to' (should be 'compared to'), 'activities was dramatically rose' (should be 'rose dramatically'), and 'The figure of income' (less natural than 'The proportion of income'). These errors show a mix of accurate and faulty complex structures, fitting the Band 6 descriptor.

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.