Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-19

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 given chart depicts the average weekly spending by families on various things such as food, housing, transport and personal goods, etc in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the highest proportion of money in year 1968 was spend on food while in 2018, people are prioritizing to spend money on their personal enjoyment. Furthermore, in 1968, least spending was made on fuel and power resources while in 2018, the least amount of weekly spending is that on personal goods and fuel and power.

The percentage of weekly income spend on food was 35% in 1968, which remains the highest share reached in both years. The proportion of money spend on other aspects did not exceed 10% in 1968. The share of leisure, clothing and housing remain 10% approxematly while other expenses such as housholds goods, transport and personal goods account for 8%.

On the other hand, the most spending in year 2018 is made on leisure activities which stands at 22%. The second highest share is made by housings which is about 19%. All other expenses, other than the transport which stands at 14%, barely exceeds 8%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast between the years: food dominates spending in 1968, while leisure is the largest category in 2018. You also report several relevant figures, including food at 35%, leisure at 22%, housing at about 19%, and transport at 14%. However, some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. In 1968, housing and clothing are each about 10%, but leisure is about 9%, so saying all three are approximately 10% is imprecise. More importantly, the overview says personal enjoyment is prioritised in 2018, although leisure—not personal goods—is the largest category. The claim that all other 2018 expenses barely exceed 8% also overlooks housing and transport. Include clearer comparisons of the major rises and falls, especially food’s decline and leisure, housing, and transport’s increases.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing each year. The contrast marker “On the other hand” helps signal the move to 2018, and the information is generally easy to follow. However, some links between ideas are not fully precise. For example, “which remains the highest share reached in both years” is confusing because food is not the highest category in 2018. The overview also groups the lowest categories, while the later details do not consistently develop that comparison. Improve progression by organising the body around the most important changes between years, and use references such as “this category” only when their meaning is unmistakable. This would make the comparison more continuous rather than a list of figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing a chart, including “proportion,” “share,” “account for,” and “stands at.” These choices help communicate the main figures, and the meaning is generally clear. There are, however, several inaccurate or awkward word choices and spelling errors. “People are prioritizing to spend money” is not a natural way to describe the chart; “families allocated a larger share to leisure” would be more precise. “Fuel and power resources” adds a meaning not present in the category label, while “housings” should be “housing.” Check spellings such as “approximately” and “household.” Aim for consistent, accurate terms for categories and use “spending” or “expenditure” rather than repeatedly relying on “money” and “expenses.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “food was 35% in 1968, which…” and a contrastive opening in the final paragraph. Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “was spend” and “percentage … spend” need the past participle “spent,” while “the share … remain” requires “remained.” The phrase “the highest proportion … was spend” also has an incorrect verb form, and “the least amount … is that on” shifts awkwardly between past and present. Keep the reporting tense consistent when describing both years, and check subject–verb agreement and verb forms. More accurate control of these patterns would make the comparisons smoother.

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