Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-17

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 7.5)

The bar graph illustrates data on the weekly spending of families in one country in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it can be seen that the average weekly spending on food and leisure accounted for the largest share in 1968 and 2018, respectively, while fuel and power contributed the lowest share in both years.

In 1968, food contributed the highest proportion of spending at 35%, whereas both housing and clothing & footwear recorded the second largest expenditure at roughly 10%. Personal and household goods, transport, and leisure all showed equal proportions of spending at almost 9% and the spending on fuel & power was the lowest.

In 2018, spending habits regarding leisure increased and was recorded as the activity with the highest spending at approximately 23%, while the weekly proportion of food and housing were roughly the same at 17-18%. Fuel and personal goods showed a low percentage of spending at almost 4%. Notably, household goods showed equal amount of spending in both years at 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by summarizing the main features of weekly family spending in 1968 and 2018 and making relevant comparisons. An appropriate overall trend is identified in the second paragraph, highlighting the shifts in food, leisure, fuel, and power. Key data points are accurately reported, such as food starting at 35% in 1968 and leisure peaking at 22% in 2018. The comparison between the two years is well-executed, noting constants like household goods remaining at 8%. The response is fully developed and satisfies all the requirements of Academic Task 1 without any significant omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introduction outlining the graph, moves into a clear overview, and then dedicates individual body paragraphs to each year (1968 and 2018). Cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'overall', and 'in contrast' are used effectively to connect ideas. Paragraphing is logical and appropriate, with each paragraph serving a distinct function. Referencing is clear throughout, making the progression of information smooth and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient and generally flexible range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, using terms like 'proportion', 'expenditure', 'accounted for', and 'significantly'. There are occasional slight awkwardness in word choices, such as 'spending habits regarding leisure increased', where it is the percentage of spending rather than the habit that increased. However, these minor inaccuracies do not impede communication. Less common lexical items are attempted with decent awareness of style and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'while fuel and power contributed the lowest share in both years'). The majority of sentences are error-free, and grammatical control is generally strong. There is a minor grammatical slip in the fourth paragraph ('spending habits regarding leisure increased and was recorded'), where plural subject-verb agreement is slightly off, but this does not affect clarity. Punctuation is accurate throughout.

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

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