Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22

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 given bar chart illustrates the comparison between the consumption of weekly earning in 1968 with the year 2018 by various households covering 6 different aspects including groceries, accomodation, gasoline and power, amenities to wear, home goods, private essentials, transportation medium and free time activities.

It has been observed that traditional people spent almost 35% of their income on food items followed by housing and clothing and footware taking 10% of the sum. However, in 2018 they prefer to spend around 23% of their earnings on various leisure activities followed by 18% on houses while 17% on their eatables. Similarly, percentage for the personal belongings and fuel and power has remained same accounting 4% only in 2018 while opposite has been seen in the earlier times when people spent more on these things.

Furthermore, leisure, transport, fuel and power, and goods for the household never seems to be a priority for them to lean on. Comparatively, nowadays individuals like spending more on such things except household items which has remained same over time at 8%. This shows a significant variation in opinions and choices with the progression of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers most key features of the chart, successfully identifying major categories like food and leisure, and making relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. An overview is present, highlighting the overall shift in spending habits over time. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and over-generalizations in the figures reported. For instance, the student states that leisure accounts for 'around 23%' in 2018, whereas the chart shows it closer to 22%, and states that household goods remained exactly the same at 8% (which is accurate, but some phrasing lacks precision). Furthermore, the introduction rephrases the categories rather unusually (e.g., 'amenities to wear' for clothing and footwear). Overall, the response addresses all parts of the task well, though slightly more precise data selection and a clearer overview would elevate the score further. Band 6.5 is appropriate here as it addresses the prompt adequately with relevant ideas, though minor data lapses prevent a higher mark.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into three paragraphs, featuring a clear introduction, body paragraphs comparing the two years, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'However', 'Similarly', and 'Furthermore'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, referencing is occasionally vague or slightly confusing, such as the pronoun use in 'never seems to be a priority for them to lean on', where the antecedent is slightly obscured by the lengthy list of categories. Additionally, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Despite these minor flaws, the progression of information is coherent and easy to follow throughout the response. This performance fits the Band 6.5 descriptors well, demonstrating a coherent overall arrangement with clear logical organization, though cohesion can sometimes feel slightly mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary, including synonyms and less common items such as 'consumption', 'accomodation', 'gasoline and power', and 'private essentials'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors that detract from precision. For example, 'accomodation' is misspelled (accommodation), and terms like 'amenities to wear' for clothing and footwear, or 'eatables' for food, sound unnatural and awkward in an academic context. While the lexical range is adequate for the task, these inaccuracies in collocation and word choice place the response firmly in the Band 6 category. The vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate the main points, but the frequent awkward phrasings and spelling mistakes prevent it from achieving a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as participial phrases ('taking 10% of the sum') and subordinate clauses ('while opposite has been seen...'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures scattered throughout the text. Examples include 'the consumption of weekly earning in 1968 with the year 2018' (preposition error), 'percentage for the personal belongings' (missing article), 'has remained same' (missing article), and 'fuel and power, and goods for the household never seems' (subject-verb agreement error with a plural compound subject taking 'seems'). These errors occasionally cause slight friction for the reader, though they do not impede overall communication. This mix of structures and persistent grammatical errors aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

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

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