Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-13

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 average weekly spending by families in one selected country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, in 1968 food accounted for the largest proportion of household spending, while in 2018, the biggest share of the income was spend on leisure. Fuel and power represented the smallest proportion of the income in both, 1968 and 2018.

In 1968, average family spend around 35% of their income on food, while in 2018, the number was approximately 50% lower. When it comes to housing, the figure in 2018 was equal to approximately 18% and was nearly twice as high as in 1968. In 1968, the typial family was spending around 7% of their income on fuel and power, while in 2018, the share was equal to around 4%. In 1968, average family spend around 10% of their income on clothing and footware, while in 2018, the number was approximately 50% lower.

In 1968 and 2018 spendings on household good were equal and standed for around 8% of household income. Spendings on personal goals were approximately twice as high in 1968 as in 2018. When it comes to transport and Leisure, in 1968 typical household spend around 8% and 9% of income, respectively, while in 2018 numbers were equal to 14% and 22%, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response selects the main features accurately: food is the largest category in 1968, leisure is largest in 2018, and fuel and power is the smallest in both years. It also makes relevant comparisons, including the fall in food spending, the near doubling of housing, and the rise in transport and leisure. Most figures are consistent with the chart, though “around 7%” for fuel in 1968 is a little high compared with approximately 6%. The overview is clear and the categories are covered broadly. To strengthen the report further, state the key shifts more precisely—for example, food fell from 35% to 17%, while leisure rose from 9% to 22%—rather than relying mainly on “approximately 50% lower.”

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping the category comparisons. The progression from the largest spending items to the remaining categories is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “When it comes to” and “while” help signal comparisons. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent overall arrangement and shows some stronger organisation. However, repeated sentence openings such as “In 1968” and “In 1968 and 2018” make the flow somewhat mechanical. Some links also connect figures without clearly highlighting the broader contrast. Vary the way comparisons are introduced and group related increases and decreases more deliberately to make cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is adequate vocabulary for describing the chart, including “accounted for the largest proportion,” “share,” “approximately,” and “nearly twice as high.” These choices communicate the comparisons clearly, and the writer attempts some variation rather than repeating only “spending.” However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems limit precision: “spendings” is not the natural noun here, “personal goals” mislabels personal goods, and “footware” is misspelled. “The number” is also imprecise for a percentage. Use standard chart language such as “expenditure,” “proportion,” and “figure,” and check category labels carefully. This would make the vocabulary more accurate and natural while retaining the useful range already present.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and “as high as,” and most meanings remain clear. Some grammatical errors occur, but they rarely obstruct understanding. For example, “average family spend” needs subject–verb agreement (“the average family spent”), while “household good were equal and standed” has problems with number and verb form. The phrase “in both, 1968 and 2018” also uses punctuation awkwardly. There is some control of longer comparative sentences, but accuracy is uneven across the response. Review past-tense forms, singular and plural agreement, and sentence punctuation, then proofread each sentence for a complete and consistent grammatical structure.

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