Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-07

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 bar chart illustrates the proportions of families weekly expenses between 1968 and 2018 in one nation.

Overall, in 1968, the major spendings were in food, however remaining like housing,clothing and footware, leisure etc., showed similar spending ratios in the year by the families and the least was in fuel and power. whereas in 2018, the most expenses were in leisure, followed by housing and minimum in the personal goods, fuel and power.

In comparision, food accounted most of the spendings in 1968 which stood at 35%, followed by housing,clothing and footware at 10%, the remaining like household goods, personal goods, transport were also across 10% showing minimal fluctuations. However leisure was just above 20% in 2018 with highest expendeture. In contrast, in the both years the fuel and power were the least spent by the families which represented just over 10% in 1968 and just below 5% in 2018 repectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main shift clearly: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure led in 2018, and you note that fuel and power was low in both years. This covers the central features and includes relevant comparisons. Some details, however, are inaccurate or unclear: housing and clothing were both 10% in 1968, but household goods, personal goods and transport were 8%, not “across 10%”; and fuel and power was about 6% in 1968, rather than “just over 10%.” The overview also calls several categories similar without distinguishing their values. To strengthen the response further, report the major changes more precisely, especially the rise in housing and transport and the fall in food spending.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and a comparison paragraph. The overview usefully contrasts the leading categories in the two years, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In comparison” and “However” help signal relationships. However, progression within the final paragraph is not always clear: it moves from 1968 food and other categories to 2018 leisure, then back to fuel in both years. Some connections are also awkward or unclear, such as “the remaining like household goods” and “In contrast, in the both years.” Grouping the figures by the largest increases and decreases, and using clearer references to each year, would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportions,” “accounted,” “followed by” and “represented,” and the reader can generally understand the categories being compared. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “major spendings,” “most expenses,” “minimum in the personal goods” and “highest expendeture.” Spelling errors such as “comparision,” “footware” and “repectively” also reduce precision. The repeated use of “spending” and “spent” limits the range. Aim for accurate, natural phrases such as “the largest share of weekly expenditure” and “the smallest proportion,” and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast between the two years and a relative clause in “which stood at 35%.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are noticeable. For example, “the major spendings were in food” has an awkward sentence pattern, while “in the both years” uses an incorrect article construction. The overview sentence beginning “Overall” also joins contrasting ideas with a full stop before “whereas,” leaving the second part improperly punctuated. Commas are missing after introductory phrases and around lists. Practise building complete, balanced comparison sentences and check articles, clause boundaries and punctuation.

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