Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 graph provides the information regarding the weekly spending income of families across eight categories in one country during the 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the spending habit of families undergoes a significant transformation over the fifty year period. In 1968, food was the main spending of the families whereas by 2018, leisure and housing become the dominant area of expenditures.

First of all, leisure rose dramatically from 9% in 1968 to 22% in 2018, making it the highest expense. Similarly, housing increases double from 10% to 19% till 2018. Transport also went up from 8% to 14%. Meanwhile, household goods show no changes, staying stable at 8% in both years.

On the other hand, in 1986, food was the biggest spending at 35%, showed a rapidly decline to 17% in 2018. Clothing and footware cut into half from 10% to 5%. Personal goods also become half from 8% to 4%. while, fuel and power show minor decline from 6% to 4%. Comparatively, housing and leisure were the two main categories on which the families spent their weekly income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response identifies the main shift clearly: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure and housing were the leading expenses in 2018. It also selects several useful comparisons, including leisure rising from 9% to 22%, transport from 8% to 14%, and household goods remaining at 8%. Most figures match the chart. However, the reference to “1986” is inaccurate, and the final comparison repeats the overview rather than adding a further insight. Some changes are reported without much interpretation, so the coverage is relevant but unevenly developed. To strengthen the report, ensure the years are accurate and make the overview more precise by noting that food fell sharply while leisure became the largest category in 2018.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping increases and decreases. This makes the main comparisons easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Meanwhile” and “On the other hand” help signal contrasts. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical, and the final sentence repeats the overview without advancing the comparison. The transition into the last paragraph is also weakened by the incorrect year reference, while “while” begins a sentence after a full stop in lower case. Grouping the figures consistently and ending with a concise synthesis would create smoother progression and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “rose dramatically,” “dominant,” “stable,” and “minor decline,” which helps describe trends and comparisons. Some less common choices show an attempt to vary expression, but several collocations or forms are inaccurate: “weekly spending income,” “main spending,” “increases double,” and “cut into half” are not natural in this context. “Footware” is also misspelled; the chart category is footwear. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the data, but they limit precision and naturalness. Use standard trend language such as “accounted for,” “doubled,” and “fell by half” to make descriptions more idiomatic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause in “whereas by 2018” and participial phrasing such as “making it the highest expense.” The main message remains clear, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “during the 1968 and 2018” has an incorrect article/preposition pattern, and “housing increases double” has an incorrect verb form and tense. Tense control is inconsistent in “food … showed a rapidly decline,” while “while” is incorrectly capitalised after a full stop. Aim to use past tense consistently for both years and check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries; this would improve accuracy without sacrificing structural variety.

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