Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-01

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 chart illustrates about the average wekly spending by families in one country in 1968 and 2018, measured as percentage.

Overall, there are 8 categories mentioned. Majority of the families budget was spent mostly for daily basic needs such as food in 1968, while most families allowance was allocated for leisure in 2018.

In 1968, most people allocated their money mostly for foods accounted for 35%, followed by housing and clothing and software with 10% of their weekly budget. Although, they still managed to spend 9% of their money on leisure for balance. However, the leser proportion of their allowance(8%) was spent for household, personal goods, and transport, respectively, followed by 6% for fuel and power.

In 2018, most families preferred spending for their leisure with 23%. Then, 48% of the budget was spent on their houding (19%), food(17%), and transport(14%). Minority of the budget was accounted for clothing and footware(5%), fuel and power(4%), and personal goods(4%).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart, providing a clear overview and making relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. Key data points, such as the highest spending on food in 1968 (35%) and leisure in 2018 (23%), are correctly identified. However, some aspects are under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as stating that '48% of the budget was spent on their housing, food, and transport' when the combined sum requires careful reading, or writing 'software' instead of 'footwear'. The overall progression is clear, meeting the requirements for this band level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and distinct body paragraphs for each year. Information and ideas are logically sequenced. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, with transitional phrases like 'Although, they still managed...' and 'Then, 48% of the budget...' applied rather awkwardly. Referencing and referencing devices are occasionally unclear, and the mechanical linking prevents the text from achieving a smoother, more natural flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two time periods, supporting the overall structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'allocated', 'proportion', and 'majority'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices that prevent a higher score. For instance, 'wekly' contains a spelling error, 'clothing and software' misnames the chart category ('footware' is also misspelled later), and 'leser' is used instead of 'lesser'. Furthermore, phrases like 'spent mostly for daily basic needs' exhibit awkward collocation. These errors do not seriously impede communication but restrict the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the concessive clause 'Although, they still managed to spend...' and relative constructions. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including an incorrect preposition in 'illustrates about the average weekly spending' and tense or article slips. Punctuation issues also appear, such as comma splices or unnecessary commas. Nevertheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the intended message without major difficulty.

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