Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-20

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 column chart illustrates the details about expending families weekly income in one nation in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is clear that families spent the highest amount of money to food category in 1968 and leisure category in 2018 respectively. Fuel and power allocated the lowesr amount of income both in 1968 and 2018.

Looking at the details, spending on food was the highest around 35% in 1968 followed by housing and clothing and footware about 10% in 1968. Fuel and power was slightly over of 5% and household goods were below 10% respecticely. Transport and leisure both were below 10% in 1968.

In 2018, there were mainly four categories named food, housing, transport and leisure spent the most. The highest was leisure over 20% followed by housing near 20% in 2018. Transport was slightly below of 15%. The remaining categories were fuel and power, household and goods and transport. Those categories expanded the lowest income in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the chart, successfully contrasting the data between 1968 and 2018. The student identifies the major trends, such as the drop in food spending and the rise in leisure expenditure. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific figures; for instance, the student states that housing and clothing were 'about 10%' in 1968, whereas clothing and footwear was actually 10% but housing was also 10% (wait, housing was 10%, clothing was 10%, which is correct). Yet, fuel and power is reported as 'slightly over of 5%' when the chart shows it at 6%, and household goods are stated as below 10% (actually 8%). The overview captures the most significant shifts adequately, though the phrasing is sometimes awkward. Overall, the task is addressed, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then two body paragraphs detailing the years 1968 and 2018 respectively. Cohesive devices are attempted, such as 'Overall', 'Looking at the details', and 'In 2018', but their use is at times mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the sentence 'The remaining categories were fuel and power, household and goods and transport' contradicts the earlier mention of transport. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different temporal points, securing a solid Band 6.0 for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but contains several noticeable lexical and collocation errors. The student writes 'expending families weekly income' instead of 'expending families' weekly income' or 'spending on weekly income', and uses 'lowesr' (typographical error). Phrases like 'allocated the lowesr amount of income' and 'Those categories expanded the lowest income' demonstrate imprecise word choice and awkward phrasing. While there are attempts at less common vocabulary such as 'expending', 'category', and 'proportion' (implied), frequent word-choice errors limit the score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text. Examples include missing prepositions or incorrect verb forms, such as 'spent the highest amount of money to food category' instead of 'on the food category', and 'Fuel and power allocated the lowesr amount' (misuse of active voice where passive is required). Additionally, phrases like 'slightly over of 5%' and 'below of 15%' contain redundant prepositions. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips cause occasional difficulty, placing this criterion at a Band 5.5.

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