Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-16

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 graph illustrates the information about the percentage of families who spent their weekly earnings on various activities in single nation between 1968 and 2018.

Overall, maximum number of individuals spent money on food, while least was seen in fuel and power in the given time period.

After analysing, it can be clearly seen that the maximum proportion of people was spent money on food in 1968, whereas it was declined to 17% in 2018. However, people spent 23% money to leisure activities in the final year, whilst it was almost doubled than 1968. In contrast, an equal proportion of money was spent on household goods by families in both the given years. Further elaborating, 5% and 3% expenses was utilised on fuel and power in 1968 and 2018 respetively.

Moving further towards the remaining data, in the former year, money spent on housing was half than the money spent on this activity in the latter year. Further demonstrating, people spent 10% money on clothing and footwear which was 5% less than 2018. An equal proportion of money was spent on personal goods and transport in 1968, while 3 % and 14% money they used on personal good and trasport in 2018 correspondingly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main categories and make several relevant comparisons, including the fall in food spending from 35% to 17%, the rise in leisure, and the unchanged share for household goods. The overview identifies food as the largest category in 1968, but it is inaccurate to say food was the maximum in the overall period: leisure was highest in 2018 at about 22%. Likewise, fuel and power was not the lowest category in 1968; it was the lowest in 2018, while several categories were lower than food in 1968. Most figures are broadly reported, though leisure and some smaller values differ slightly from the chart. To strengthen the response, make the overview accurately compare the two years and select the most significant shifts more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of comparisons. The reader can follow the movement from food and leisure to the remaining categories, and phrases such as “In contrast” and “Moving further” signal transitions. However, the sequence within the detail paragraphs is not consistently organised by a clear comparison principle, and some linking phrases feel mechanical or do not add much meaning. “After analysing” and “Further elaborating” are also awkward ways to introduce chart details. Grouping the largest changes together, then the smaller or stable categories, would create stronger progression. Use fewer, more natural transitions and make each paragraph’s organising idea clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of chart-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “declined,” “equal proportion,” and “correspondingly.” This allows you to describe changes and compare categories, but several choices are imprecise or unnatural for this task. Families do not spend income on “activities” when the chart lists spending categories, and “23% money to leisure activities” is an awkward collocation. There are also spelling errors, including “respetively” and “trasport,” and inconsistent forms such as “personal good.” Aim for accurate, natural phrases such as “the share of weekly income allocated to” and “spending on leisure.” This would make the description clearer and more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using contrast clauses with “whereas” and “while,” as well as comparative structures. Meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the maximum proportion of people was spent money” has an incorrect passive construction; write “families spent the largest proportion” or “the largest proportion was spent.” In “it was declined,” the verb should be active (“it declined”), and “5% and 3% expenses was utilised” has problems with agreement and sentence structure. Articles and prepositions are also sometimes missing, as in “in single nation.” Review subject–verb agreement, active versus passive forms, and complete sentence patterns to improve accuracy while retaining your range.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.