Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-18

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 data illustrates the information about how weekly expense utilized by families in one nation in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is clear that spending patterns changed considerably between 1968 and 2018. The proportion of weekly income spent on food decreased dramatically, while housing and leisure saw substantial increases. In addition, fuel and power, clothing and footwear, and personal goods declined.

Moving into more detail, the weekly expense on food was reported 35% from total income in 1968 and this decreased rapidly by 18% in 2018. The proportion of weekly income on housing increased gradually from 15% in 1968 to 19% in 2018. Moreover, families spent least income on fuel and power, which experienced 6% in 1968 and then fell slightly to 4% in 2018. Additionaly, the expense on clothing and footwear was same as housing in 1968, then declined and accounted for 5% in 2018.

Furthermore, families spent constant expense on household goods in both 1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting key features from the chart to report and compare. The main trends are successfully identified, such as the drop in food spending and the increase in leisure and housing. However, there are some data inaccuracies present in the body paragraphs. For example, the student states that housing increased from 15% in 1968, whereas the chart shows it was 10%. Additionally, the student misinterprets the decrease for food as 18% instead of the actual drop from 35% to 17%. Despite these minor data reading errors, the response satisfies the requirements of Task 1 well enough to warrant a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into clear paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Moving into more detail', 'Moreover', and 'Furthermore' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, some referencing and cohesion feel a bit mechanical or awkward, such as 'Moving into more detail' instead of 'Looking at the details in more detail' or 'Turning to the specifics'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the detailed body points, ensuring a coherent overall arrangement.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common phrases like 'proportion of weekly income', 'substantial increases', and 'experienced'. However, there are several word choice and collocation errors, such as 'weekly expense utilized by families' instead of 'weekly spending by families', 'reported 35% from total income' instead of 'stood at 35% of total income', and 'Additionaly' (spelling error). These lexical inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band, but communication is not impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'while housing and leisure saw substantial increases', 'which experienced 6% in 1968'). There are some noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'the weekly expense on food was reported 35%' (passive voice issue) and 'clothing and footwear was same as housing'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors exist, they rarely impede communication, placing the response solidly in Band 6.0.

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

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