Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19

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 presented bar graph illustrates the comparison of the families total earning which they spent in one country by spending in eight different ways such as Food, Housing, Fuel and power, Clothing and footwear, Housing goods, Personal goods, Transportation, Leisure during the year 1960 and 2018. The data are given as percentages.

Overall, it can be seen that people spent their maximum income under the food in 1968. Conversely, the minimum money spent by individuals under the personal goods and Fuel and power categories in 2018.

To begin with, In the year 1968 most of the families spent their weekly income in the food. It was approximately 35% and it was the highest number of spending recorded in this year. After that, it decreased by 17% in 2018. Similarly, people can spent their money in the Leisure way. They were spend above 9% in 1968 and the figure moderately increased 24% in 2018. Moreover, the least number of spending recorded under the Fuel and power and Personal goods categories. It was 6% and 8% in 1968 respectively. Then after, in the year 2018 it slightly went down at 4% in both categories.

Moving to the rest of the information, during the year 1968 and 2018 household goods spending data remained same about 7%. Furthermore, in the housing and transportation categories total 10% and 7% of weekly income spent by the families in 1968 individually. It mildly increased at 19% as well as 16% in 2018 respectively. However, the spending on the clothing and footwear during the year 1968. It was one in ten. The figure decreased at 5% in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart for both 1968 and 2018. An overview is provided, highlighting food as the highest category in 1968 and noting the lowest categories in 2018. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting specific figures; for instance, the text states that leisure increased to 24% (while the chart shows around 22%), and household goods are reported as 7% rather than 8%. Despite these minor discrepancies, key trends such as the drop in food spending and the rise in housing and leisure are adequately compared and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is arranged logically with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and body paragraphs discussing specific categories. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions and comparisons, such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'Moving to the rest of the information'. However, some cohesive links and referencing are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Then after' and 'in the Leisure way'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to structure the information.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common collocations and vocabulary items such as 'proportion', 'categories', and 'moderately increased'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'families total earning', 'under the food', 'in the Leisure way', and 'Housing goods' (instead of household goods). These errors do not prevent comprehension, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout the text, such as 'people can spent their money', 'the least number of spending recorded', 'spending data remained same', and punctuation or preposition errors like 'went down at 4%'. While complex structures are attempted, frequent minor errors persist, though they rarely impede overall communication.

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

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