Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-08

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 chart illustrates the information about how households in a nation utilized their weekly salary in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, it can be seen that spending on food experienced the highest share in 1968, while fuel and power constitued the lowest. In contrast, the largest families spent of their weekly expense on leisure in 2018, whereas household goods remain unchanged in both years.

Moving into more detail, the families spent their weekly income comprised 35% on food in 1968, which decreased considerably to almost 17% in 2018. Similarly, the weekly expense on clothing and footwear accounted for 10% in 1968, then it declined by half in 2018. Moreover, the percentage of weekly income on fuel and power reported at more than 5% in 1968 and then it fell slightly to 4% in 2018. Additionally, the spending on personal goods constituted at around 8% in 1968 and stood at less than 5% in 2018.

Meanwhile, the weekly spending on household goods remain unaltered in both years. Subsequently, the expense on housing inclined marginally from 10% to almost doubled in 2018, while families spent on transport surged substantially to 14% in 2018, which was around 7% in 1968. Lastly, the spending on leisure stood at 9% in 1968, which climbed rapidly to more than double in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response selects the main features and reports the key comparisons accurately: food falls from 35% to about 17%, leisure rises from 9% to more than double, and household goods remain at 8%. The overview also identifies the highest and lowest categories in 1968 and the leading category in 2018. Most other figures are consistent with the chart, although transport is described as about 7% in 1968 rather than 8%, a small discrepancy. The coverage is relevant and sufficiently supported, but the overview could be more precise by noting that housing and transport also increased, while most other categories declined or stayed level. This would make the overall pattern clearer and reduce reliance on category-by-category reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs that group declining categories before turning to stable and rising ones. This gives the reader a coherent route through the data. Linking expressions such as “Similarly,” “Moreover,” and “Meanwhile” help connect comparisons, but the frequent use of “Moreover,” “Additionally,” “Subsequently,” and “Lastly” can feel mechanical rather than showing precise relationships. Some references are also unclear, particularly “the largest families spent of their weekly expense,” where the intended comparison is difficult to follow. To improve, use fewer formulaic transitions and make each paragraph’s grouping explicit, for example by contrasting categories that fell with those that rose.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of vocabulary for describing the chart, including “decreased considerably,” “declined by half,” “remained unaltered,” and “surged substantially.” These choices communicate the main trends, though some less natural collocations and word forms reduce precision. “Utilized their weekly salary” is not an ideal description of spending, and “the largest families spent of their weekly expense” is awkward and unclear. “Constitued” is misspelled, and “footware” in the task wording should be rendered as “footwear.” Also, “inclined marginally” does not accurately convey the rise in housing from 10% to 19%, which is substantial. Prefer standard chart language and ensure that the strength of the vocabulary matches the size of each change.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentences, including relative clauses such as “which decreased considerably” and contrast structures with “while.” Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the families spent their weekly income comprised 35%” has an incorrect sentence structure; a clearer form would be “families spent 35% of their weekly income on food.” There are also agreement and tense inconsistencies: “household goods remain unaltered” should be “remained,” and “the largest families spent” does not form a clear grammatical comparison. The sentence about housing and transport also needs a more controlled parallel structure. Practise accurate subject–verb patterns and keep past-tense reporting consistent while retaining the complex sentence forms you already attempt.

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