Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

The bar chart illustrates the information of the average weekly expenditure of the families on eight areas in one nation in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, food had the dominant figure in 1968. However, leisure became the largest spending area by 2018. Spending on food, personal goods, clothing and footwear, and fuel and power significantly decreased. In contrast, spending on housing, transport and leisure remarkably increased. Meanwhile, only spending on household goods remained stable.

In detail, in 1968, a 35% of expenses was covered by food, which plummeted to about 17% in 2018. Meanwhile, about 6% was spended on fuel and power in 1968, decreased to roughly 4% in 2018. Additionally, roughly 8% expenditure on personal goods fell to about 4% in 2018. A10% spending on clothing and footwear declined to its half in 2018.

Turning to the remaining areas, a 10% spending on housing in 1968 rose to approximately 19% by 2018 whereas, roughly 9% expenditure on leisure in 1968 surged to hit a peak of 22% to become the largest expenditure area in 2018. Furthermore, about 8% on transport increased to approximately 14% in 2018. However, expenditure on household goods remained stable at about 8% in both year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The response covers the main features accurately and gives a clear overview: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure led in 2018; household goods stayed level, and the other categories are grouped by whether they rose or fell. The figures cited—such as food dropping from 35% to 17%, leisure rising from 9% to 22%, and housing increasing from 10% to 19%—match the chart. The body also reports the remaining categories, so the comparison is well supported rather than relying on the overview alone. To make the account even more precise, avoid broad terms such as “significantly” for every decline, since the size of the changes varies, and distinguish the smaller shifts from the largest ones.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The organisation is clear and effective: an introductory sentence is followed by an overview, then two body paragraphs that group decreases and increases or stable spending. This gives the reader a logical route through the data, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In detail,” and “Turning to the remaining areas” make the progression easy to follow. Some transitions are slightly mechanical, however, and “Meanwhile” is used for relationships that are not always contrasting. The final paragraph also contains a long sequence of comparisons joined by “whereas” and “Furthermore.” For a more polished flow, vary the linking language and use shorter sentences where several figures are being compared.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

There is a good range of task-appropriate vocabulary, including “dominant figure,” “plummeted,” “declined,” “surged,” and “remained stable.” These choices help describe both direction and scale, and the category labels are generally handled clearly. Some collocations and forms are less natural, such as “the information of the average weekly expenditure,” “a 35% of expenses,” and “a 10% spending.” “Spended” and “A10%” also show lapses in word form or presentation. These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Prefer concise chart language such as “the proportion spent on,” “accounted for,” and “fell by half,” and check spelling and spacing carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including contrast clauses with “whereas” and “however,” and most comparisons remain understandable. There are nevertheless some grammatical errors, which is why control is not yet consistent. Examples include the article and noun phrase in “a 35% of expenses,” the incomplete construction “about 6% was spended …, decreased to roughly 4%,” and the missing plural in “both year.” The clause beginning “A 10% spending … declined” also lacks a well-formed subject. Improve accuracy by using complete parallel clauses—for example, “Spending on fuel and power fell from about 6% to 4%”—and check articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries. The range is developing, but complex comparisons need more reliable construction.

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