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 chart compares the average weekly spending pattern of families in a country in 1968 and 2018, presented percentage of weekly income.

Overall, the chart reveal the significant spending food was the highest expenditure thriughout the period and fuel and power were the lowest in terms of spending income.

In 1968, food was the largest expense, accounting for closely 35% of the weekly income. However, by 2018, this proportion dropped significantly to 17%. Housing ependiture showed an opposite trend, in 1968, it made small part roughly around 10%. But in 2018, it increased around 19%.

Spemding on fuel and power, clothing and footware, and personal goods decreased from 1968 to 2018. For instance, fuel and power spending fell from 7% to 4%. On the other hand, expenditure on transport and lesiure was increased. The most notable growth was 7% in 1968 and rose to 22% in 2018. Household goods represented stability over the period 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main contrast between the two years: food spending fell substantially, while housing rose, and you also note the stability of household goods. These are relevant features, and the overview attempts to identify the highest and lowest categories. However, the overview is not fully accurate: fuel and power was not the lowest category in 1968, and in 2018 leisure, not food, was the largest expense. Some details are also misreported: transport rose from 8% to 14%, while leisure rose from 9% to 22%; the response gives 7% as the starting point for the latter. The other category changes are reported broadly, but a more precise overview and accurate comparisons are needed for fuller coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement, moving from an introduction and overview to details about major changes and then other categories. Paragraphing helps distinguish the overview from the figures, and linking expressions such as “However,” “For instance,” and “On the other hand” make relationships between points visible. Some connections are less smooth, though: “Housing expenditure showed an opposite trend, in 1968…” joins two ideas with a comma, and the final paragraph lists several categories without a fully clear sequence of comparisons. The overview also conflicts with the later data, which weakens the progression of the report. Grouping increases, decreases, and stable figures more systematically would make cohesion less mechanical and the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “accounting for,” “proportion,” “expenditure,” and “decreased.” However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice problems limit precision: “thriughout,” “ependiture,” “Spemding,” “lesiure,” and “footware” are misspelled, while “spending income” and “made small part” are unnatural combinations. “The chart reveal the significant spending food” is also unclear as a phrase. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the general topic, but they make the report less fluent and sometimes obscure the intended comparison. Check spelling carefully and favour standard collocations such as “share of weekly income” and “accounted for a small proportion.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast clauses with “However” and “On the other hand,” and the meaning is generally recoverable. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “the chart reveal,” the subject requires a singular verb; “presented percentage” needs a grammatical link such as “presented as a percentage”; and “expenditure … was increased” uses an unsuitable passive form. The sentence beginning “Housing expenditure showed an opposite trend, in 1968…” also has a comma splice. Articles and sentence construction need attention in phrases such as “made small part.” More consistent control of agreement, verb forms, articles, and punctuation would make the varied structures clearer and more accurate.

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