Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-24

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 6.5)

The bar graph illustrates average spending of weekly payment by families in a country in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, older generation often spent their income more on food, while newer generation spent their weekly earnings on leisure activities. Both generation have spent equal money on household items and least amount of money on fuel and power.

In 1968, exactly 35% of people used to spent substantial amount of their weekly pay on groceries. However, in 2018, approximately 17% of people bought food. Owning a house was more common in 2018, accounted about 19% of families' weekly pay, while only 10% of individuals used to bought house in 1968.

Exactly 10% of people in 1968 spent on shopping, whereas only 5% of families in 2018 bought clothing and footware. Money spent on household goods were same in both years, approximately 8%.

The highest money spent by people in 2018 was leisure, at around 23%. Families usually spent just slightly under 15% and about 4% in transport and personal goods respectively. In 1968, almost same amount of money is spent on transport, personal and household goods which is about 8%. The least spending in both years was on fuel and power which accounted for 6% and 4% in 1968 and 2018 respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart. The student provides a clear overview highlighting the main shifts in spending between 1968 and 2018, such as the decrease in food expenditure and the increase in leisure spending. Key data points are correctly cited, including the drop in food from 35% to 17% and the rise in leisure to 22%. Comparisons are made effectively between the two years, fulfilling the requirements for an Academic Task 1 response. While there are a few minor generalisations or slight data inaccuracies (such as stating leisure was 23% instead of 22%), the core trends are accurately captured and well-supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by a clear overview, and subsequent body paragraphs detailing specific categories. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'In 1968', ensuring logical progression. However, there are some minor mechanical errors in cohesion and referencing, and paragraph transitions could be smoother. The overall arrangement is coherent, and the information flows sensibly from food and housing to leisure and fuel.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'illustrates', 'average spending', 'substantive amount', and 'expenditure' concepts. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some awkward word choices and collocations occur, such as 'spent their income more on' instead of 'spent a greater proportion of their income on' or 'used to bought' instead of 'used to buy'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over tense usage (e.g., past simple for 1968 and present simple for 2018). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly with verb forms following modal or semi-modal structures, such as 'used to spent' and 'used to bought'. Other errors include subject-verb agreement issues like 'Both generation have spent' and awkward passive constructions such as 'almost same amount of money is spent'. These errors occasionally distract the reader but do not prevent overall comprehension.

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