Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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 line graph illustrates the weekly family income utalization in one country in 1968 and in 2018.

The maximum consumption of budget was for food in 1968 while the minimum was for fuel and power. However, after five decades the trend totally got reversed with highest use of money for Leisure and lowest for fuel and power and personal goods. A vivid increase can be observed in housing, currently in 2018 it is 19% for the quarter month in contrast it was just 10% in 1968.

Household goods remained the same on approximately 5.5%. An incline is visible in transport as well during the recent year. A dramatic fall is in food category from 35% in 1968 in ended up on 17% in 2018 which is extremely low.

Overall, the drastic drop in food, fuel and power, personal good, and clothing and footware can be observed between 1968 and 2018. Housing, transport and leisure increased significantly in 2018 as compared to 1968.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between 1968 and 2018. The writer presents a clear overview outlining the main shifts in spending categories. Key data points are selected and highlighted, such as the drop in food expenditure from 35% to 17% and the rise in housing to 19%. However, there is a tendency to over-generalise or state some figures slightly imprecisely, such as stating that household goods remained the same on approximately 5.5% when the chart shows 8% in both years, and stating that leisure became the highest while fuel and power and personal goods were the lowest. While the main trends are covered, some supporting details lack precision or are slightly underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and a concluding overview paragraph. Information is generally organized logically, moving from general extremes to specific categories. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. The transition between sentences and paragraphs occasionally feels abrupt, and referencing is not always clear, such as the sudden shift into discussing household goods without a smooth linking phrase. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal flow within body paragraphs could be managed more skillfully to ensure a seamless progression of ideas throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'utalization', 'consumption of budget', and 'dramatic fall'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally detract from precision, such as 'utalization' instead of 'utilisation', 'footware' instead of 'footwear', and describing the chart as a 'line graph' rather than a bar chart. Despite these inaccuracies in word form and collocation, the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, and the errors do not severely impede the reader's understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating introductory clauses and comparative structures. There are, however, some errors in grammar and punctuation that persist throughout the text. Examples include awkward phrasing and prepositional usage, such as 'in ended up on 17%', missing articles, and run-on structures like 'currently in 2018 it is 19% for the quarter month in contrast it was just 10% in 1968'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band, reflecting typical characteristics of this grammatical level.

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