Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29

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 7.0)

The bar graph provides information about the expenditure of percentage of income of families for different purposes in a state from 1968 to 2018.

From an overall perspective, it is evident that the highest fraction of money was shelled out on food in 1968 and the least on fuel and power. In 2018, maximum ratio of funds were laid on leisure activities while the minimum was on fuel and power and personal goods.

Moving to the details, in 1968, the largest part of weekly salary in families were spent on food, which was 35 percent. The amount was 25 % lower in case of housing, clothing and footwear. Additionally, approximately 7% of the total weekly wage was used on purchasing domestic and personal items, which remained same in the second given year.

Moving to 2018, the expenditure on food reduced to almost half of what it was in 1968 but increased to nearly 18% and 22% for shelter and entertainment purposes respectively. Furthermore, the spending almost doubled for transportation whereas for clothing and footwear, the investment decreased to mere 5 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the chart comparing family spending in 1968 and 2018. An overview is provided, highlighting the major changes such as the shift from food being the highest expenditure in 1968 to leisure in 2018. Data points are appropriately selected and compared, for example noting that food dropped from 35 percent to 17 percent, and leisure rose to 22 percent. However, there is a minor misinterpretation in the third paragraph where the writer states 'increased to nearly 18% and 22% for shelter and entertainment purposes respectively' regarding housing, when housing actually rose from 10% to 19%. Overall, the response covers the task well and meets the criteria for Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is arranged logically with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory paraphrase, moves into a clear overview paragraph, and then follows up with detailed body paragraphs broken down by year. Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader, such as 'From an overall perspective', 'Moving to the details', and 'Furthermore'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the specific details. While referencing and sequencing are generally clear, the mechanical nature of some transition phrases keeps this criterion at a Band 7 level rather than a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating less common vocabulary and synonyms like 'expenditure', 'fraction', 'shelled out', and 'entertainment purposes'. However, there are some awkward collocations and informal word choices, such as 'maximum ratio of funds were laid on' and 'shelled out on food', which detract from precision. Spelling is generally accurate, but some phrasing feels unnatural. These lexical limitations place the response firmly at Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and conditional-like comparisons (e.g., 'which was 35 percent' and 'reduced to almost half of what it was'). There are occasional grammatical errors and agreement issues, such as 'the largest part of weekly salary in families were spent' (where 'part' requires 'was') and 'remained same' (missing the article 'the'). Nevertheless, these errors do not impede communication and a good proportion of sentences are error-free, supporting a Band 6.5 score.

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

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