Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-18

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 provided bar chart illustrates the average weekly spending of a family in a country in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, foods recorded the highest spendings in 1968, whereas leisures activities and housing expenses rose gradually to become highest spendings in 2018.

In 1968, 30% of weekly income were spent on food recorded for the highest expenses, followed by housing and cloting represnting, at 10% each. In constrast, fuel and power represents the fewest spendings at 6% whereas other catergories: household goods, personal goods, leisure activities, and transport share 8% each.

The weekly expenses on leisure activities rose significantly form 8% to 22%, representing the highest expenses in 2018, whereas spendings on food decresed considerably to 17%, while spending on housing rose to 18%. On the other hand, the weekly spending on clothing/footware along with fuel and power and personal goods decreased, wheas spendings on transport increased considerably to 14% representing the third highest spending in 2018. Other expenses remained the same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main contrast clearly: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure became the largest in 2018, and you report several important changes, including food falling to 17% and transport rising to 14%. The overview also notes the rise in housing. Most figures are close to the chart, though the 1968 figures for leisure and transport are each 8%, not 9% and 8% respectively, and the 2018 housing figure is 19%, rather than 18%. The claim that leisure and housing both became the highest spending categories is imprecise: leisure was highest, with housing second. More precise comparisons and a clearer distinction between the top categories would strengthen an otherwise well-focused summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs comparing the figures across the years. The progression from the 1968 distribution to changes in 2018 is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “In contrast” and “On the other hand” help signal comparisons. The final paragraph, however, combines several trends in a long sentence, making the decreases and increases less easy to track. Some transitions also imply a stronger contrast than necessary. For example, “whereas” is used repeatedly within the same paragraph. Grouping the 2018 increases separately from the decreases, and using a wider range of concise linking structures, would make the organisation more fluent and precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “rose significantly,” “decreased considerably,” “representing,” and “remained the same.” This gives the report an appropriate range for the task. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “highest spendings,” “fewest spendings,” and “share 8% each” are not natural ways to describe proportions. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “cloting,” “represnting,” “constrast,” “catergories,” “form,” “decresed,” and “wheas.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and control. Use standard forms such as “expenditure” or “proportion,” and proofread carefully for spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including comparisons with “whereas” and “while,” and the overall meaning is generally clear. Some grammatical errors remain. In “30% of weekly income were spent,” the subject requires “was spent”; similarly, “fuel and power represents” should use past tense to match the 1968 data. The opening phrase “the average weekly spending of a family” is also awkwardly structured for a chart about families. Several long sentences, especially the final one, contain multiple clauses and are difficult to control consistently. Aim to keep comparisons in parallel grammatical forms and check subject–verb agreement and tense throughout. More consistently accurate sentence construction would improve clarity.

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