Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-11

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 displays the spending of weekly income of families across multiple items in the year 1968 and 2018.

Overall, families spent the most percentage of their weekly income on food and housing. Spending on leisure is the most variable item between both years. Other items showed a decline in spending in 2018 except transport.

In 1968, families spent about 35% of their weekly income on food which declined to less than 20% of their income in 2018. Leisure and Housing displayed the most increase in spendings of about 20% of the weekly income in 2018, almost the double of what was being spent in 1968.

On the other hand, Household good, stayed same for both years at about 7% being spend on them. The spending on Clothing, footware and personal goods reduced to half of what was being spent in 1968.Whereas, transport showed a increase of upto 15% of weekly income being spent on.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main pattern that food spending fell substantially, and you report the approximate 1968 figure accurately. You also select useful comparisons, including the rise in leisure and transport and the stability of household goods. This meets the task well, with some features reported clearly. However, the overview says families spent the most on “food and housing” overall, which is not accurate for 1968, when food was clearly highest; in 2018, leisure was highest, followed by housing. The claim that all other items declined except transport also overlooks the rise in housing and leisure. To make the summary more complete and precise, distinguish the leading categories in each year and include the notable fall in fuel and power.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by comparisons for the two years. Paragraphing helps the reader follow the main points, and linking phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is not always smooth. The overview groups trends broadly, then the body returns to some of the same points without a fully systematic comparison across categories. The final sentence also ends abruptly after “being spent on,” leaving the transport comparison incomplete. Organise the body by contrasting the largest changes first, then the smaller or unchanged categories, and ensure each sentence is complete. This would make the cohesion less mechanical and the comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “declined,” “increase,” “reduced,” and “weekly income,” so the main trends are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “the most variable item.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, however: “the most percentage,” “increase in spendings,” and “Household good” do not sound natural in this context. “Footware” is misspelled, and “being spent on” is left incomplete. Use standard category names and precise trend language, such as “the largest share,” “expenditure rose,” and “remained unchanged.” These improvements would make the report more natural and accurate while retaining its clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use both simple statements and more complex structures, including the contrast in “Other items showed a decline … except transport” and the clause beginning “which declined.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “families spent the most percentage” has an incorrect construction, and “Household good, stayed same” has problems with number, article use, and sentence punctuation. The final sentence, “transport showed a increase … being spent on,” contains an article error and is incomplete. There are also missing spaces after full stops. Aim for complete, carefully punctuated sentences and check articles, plurals, and verb patterns; this will improve accuracy without requiring more complicated structures.

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