Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-09

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 compare the weekly income spending of families in one country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, families were spent most of their income on food in these two years, while fuel and power had the lowest share in spending over the period.

Looking first at food, housing and leisure, food represented tha highest spending of average weekly spending by families, 35% in 1968 and 18% in 2018 that was comaretively low, whereas, houseing had the second highest share of spending with 10% in 1968 and 19% in 2018. Furthermore, mostly fmailies spent 23% of their weekly income on leisure in 2018, but 9% in 1968 that was lowest share as compare to the year of 2018.

Turning to the remaining categories, spending on fuel and power and personal goods was 4% in 2018, and 6% and 8% in 1968 respectively. In addition, household goods were remained relatively unchanged in both years, stood at around 8%. Moreover, spending on clothing and footware, were 10% in 1968 and in 2018 it declined to 5% only, while weekly spending on transport were 8% in 1968, afterwards it rose to 14% in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main categories and make relevant comparisons, including the sharp fall in food spending, the rise in housing and leisure, and the increase in transport. Your overview also correctly highlights food as the largest category in 1968 and fuel and power as the smallest in both years. Most figures are accurate, though leisure is given as 23% rather than approximately 22%, and the overview is slightly misleading because food was not the largest category in 2018: leisure was. The remaining categories are covered, but some comparisons are compressed—for example, fuel and personal goods are reported together without clearly matching each figure to each year. A clearer overview of the changed ranking in 2018 and more precise reporting would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs grouped by categories. Phrases such as “Looking first” and “Turning to the remaining categories” help signal the progression, and the reader can generally follow the comparisons. However, some linking is mechanical or awkward, particularly repeated uses of “Moreover” and “In addition.” The sentence about fuel and personal goods also makes the year-to-figure relationships difficult to follow, while the long sentence about food and housing contains several comparisons that would be clearer if separated. More precise referencing and smoother links between related figures would make the organisation more consistently controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of chart vocabulary, including “share of spending,” “represented,” “declined,” “rose,” and “relatively unchanged.” These choices help communicate the main trends. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “tha,” “comaretively,” “houseing,” “fmailies,” and “footware.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise: “weekly income spending” and “lowest share as compare to the year of 2018” do not sound idiomatic, and “families were spent” is not an appropriate phrase. Aim for accurate collocations such as “weekly household expenditure” and “accounted for,” and proofread spelling carefully. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but control is not yet consistent enough for greater flexibility and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, using comparison clauses and connectors such as “whereas” and “while.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some sentence structures and verb forms are faulty. For example, “The bar chart compare” needs subject–verb agreement, and “families were spent” uses an incorrect passive construction. In “household goods were remained,” the verb form is also incorrect; write “household goods remained.” Several sentences join multiple comparisons without clear grammatical boundaries, especially the sentence beginning “Looking first at food, housing and leisure.” Use a wider range of controlled sentence patterns, check agreement and verb forms, and divide overloaded sentences to improve accuracy and readability.

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