Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The bar chart illustrates how families in a particular country allocated their weekly income across eight spending categories in 1968 compared with 2018.

Overall, spending patterns shifted markedly over the fifty-year period, with essentials such as food declining in relative importance while housing and leisure took up a much larger share of the household budget.

In 1968, food was by far the largest expense, accounting for roughly 24% of weekly income, considerably more than any other category. By 2018, however, this figure had fallen sharply to around 13%, making it far less dominant. Housing, by contrast, moved in the opposite direction, rising from about 9% to approximately 18% of income, becoming one of the two largest categories alongside food.

Leisure spending showed the most dramatic increase of all, more than doubling from around 10% in 1968 to 22% in 2018, overtaking every other category except housing. Transport also grew notably, from about 8% to 14%. Meanwhile, clothing and footwear, personal goods, and fuel and power all saw their shares shrink over the period, each falling to roughly 3–5% by 2018. Household goods remained comparatively stable, holding steady at around 8% in both years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing a clear introduction and a well-formulated overview that highlights the main trends (essentials declining while housing and leisure increased). Key data points and comparisons are selected appropriately, such as contrasting food and housing. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reading the specific percentages from the chart compared to the visual reference (e.g., food in 1968 was actually around 35% rather than the roughly 24% reported by the student, and leisure in 1968 was around 9% rather than 10%). Despite these minor data discrepancies in the body paragraphs, the response adequately meets the criteria for Band 6.5 to 7.0 in terms of overview and feature selection, though the misread figures pull the score down slightly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is well-structured and demonstrates clear logical organization throughout. Ideas are sequenced logically from an introduction and overview into well-defined body paragraphs comparing the two years. Paragraphing is used effectively and appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on distinct categories or trends. Cohesive devices are employed naturally and flexibly (e.g., 'Overall', 'In 1968, by contrast', 'Meanwhile'), ensuring a smooth progression of ideas without mechanical repetition. Referencing and substitution are clear and effective.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient and generally precise range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response. Less common items and collocation are used effectively, such as 'allocated their weekly income', 'relative importance', 'shifted markedly', and 'most dramatic increase'. Word choices are generally appropriate and contribute to natural phrasing. There are no notable spelling or word-choice errors that impede communication, and the vocabulary used supports fluent expression of the data trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response exhibits a strong variety of complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'accounting for roughly 24% of weekly income, considerably more than any other category'). The majority of sentences are completely error-free, demonstrating good control of grammar and punctuation. There is a high level of accuracy across complex grammatical forms, with only very occasional minor slips, which comfortably positions this writing in the Band 8 category.

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

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