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 illustrates proportion of weekly income spent on different categories between the years 1968 and 2018. Money was spent on several categories like food, housing, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods, transport, and leisure.

Overall, in 1968 most of the money was spent to buy food, which later shifted to leisure activities in 2018. Besides, stable spending was incurred on household goods in both periods around 8%. Three categories showed rise in expenditure in later year like housing, transport, and leisure while rest four observed a downfall except household goods which was stagnant.

In 1968 most of the income was spent to buy food by 35% ;however, in 2018 the expenditure incurred on food decreased by half.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student covers the main trends by correctly identifying food as the highest category in 1968 and noting the shift to leisure in 2018. Key comparisons are made regarding housing, transport, and leisure rising, while others fell or remained stable (such as household goods at 8%). However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 123 words. This under-length limitation restricts the depth of data reporting and prevents full development of all task features, capping the score for Task Achievement at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organised into a logical structure with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and supporting detail. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Besides', and 'however'. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division could be managed more effectively with clearer separation of body details. Referencing is generally clear, though the progression between sentences can occasionally feel mechanical. This places the performance firmly within the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms such as 'proportion', 'expenditure', and 'incurred' appropriately deployed. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary like 'stagnant' and 'downfall'. However, there are minor lexical inaccuracies, such as the spelling error 'footware' (instead of footwear) and awkward phrasing like 'rest four observed a downfall'. The range is sufficient to communicate meaning adequately, supporting a Band 6 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The bar chart illustrates proportion...' and 'Three categories showed rise in expenditure in later year like housing, transport, and leisure while rest four observed a downfall'. There are some grammatical errors and missing articles (e.g., 'illustrates proportion', 'in later year', 'the rest four'), but these do not impede communication. Control of basic structures is reasonably sound, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

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.