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 Bar Chart given here provide details of the expenditure of weekly income of families in one country in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the families spent substantial amount of their weekly income on housing, transport and leisure in 2018, a contrasting data to what was found in 1968. The expenditure on food has severely dipped in 2018, while spending on fuel and power, clothing and footwear and pesonal goods showed minor dips in 2018 than in 1968. The household goods consumed equal amount of income in both of these years.

The cummulative expenses of families in a country in 2018 have increased with housing and lesiure accounting for substantial growth of 9% and 13% respectively from what the proportions of expenditure for these categories was in 1968. The transport, on the other hand, secured reasonable increase of 6% in 2018.

Contrastingly, the expenditure on food has drastically dropped from 35% in 1968 to 18% in 2018, while fuel and power, clothing and footwear and personal goods dipped but in lower proportions.

The overall spending on the household goods remained the same in both 1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses the prompt by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. The overview correctly identifies that spending patterns shifted away from food towards housing, transport, and leisure. Key data points are generally accurate, such as noting the drop in food expenditure from 35% to 17%/18% and the increases in housing and leisure. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some of the data points, such as stating food dropped to 18% when the chart indicates 17%, and referring to minor dips in fuel, clothing, and personal goods rather than stating exact proportions clearly. Nonetheless, the task is well covered with clear comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. An introductory paragraph is followed by an overview, and subsequent body paragraphs group information effectively by increasing and decreasing trends. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Overall', 'The cummulative expenses', 'Contrastingly', and 'The overall spending'. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented with several very short paragraphs that could be integrated more smoothly to enhance cohesion. Referencing and progression are generally clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'expenditure', 'substantial amount', 'severely dipped', and 'proportions'. There are a few lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'cummulative expenses' (spelling error and misuse of cumulative) and 'pesonal goods' (typographical error). Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success, but the vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The Bar Chart given here provide details...' and 'The expenditure on food has severely dipped in 2018, while spending on fuel and power... showed minor dips'. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('chart... provide' instead of 'provides'), spelling mistakes ('cummulative', 'lesiure', 'pesonal'), and occasional awkward phrasing ('a contrasting data'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear and they do not impede communication.

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

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