Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-20

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 bar chart illustrates different family groups of a country who spent their weekly income in the years 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it can be seen that expenditure on food showed the highest percentage in 1968, while people spent the least on fuel and power not only in 1968 but also in 2018. It is also noted that in 2018, leisure is the activity on which individuals spent a lot.

Looking at the details, in 1968, people spent 35 percent on food which was the highest figure in the chart over the period. The expenditure of people on household goods, personal goods and transport was exactly the same of about 8 percent. However, fuel and power was only 7 percent which was the little figure in both years.

In 2018, leisure was the most common activity of people for about 22 percent, while people spend on food 17 percent which was almost half as compared to 1968. Housing was the second common trend of that year which was 19 percent followed by transport for about 14 percent. In addition, fuel and power, clothing and footware, household and personal goods all were around 4 to 8 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main shift from food being the largest category in 1968 to leisure leading in 2018, and you include several relevant figures, such as food at 35% and leisure at 22%. The overview also notes that fuel and power was the smallest category in both years, which is broadly supported by the chart. However, this claim is not quite accurate for 2018: clothing and personal goods are also about 4%, matching fuel and power. Some comparisons are underdeveloped, and the final statement groups categories as “around 4 to 8 percent” without distinguishing their values. Include the major changes more precisely, especially the rise in housing and transport and the fall in clothing and personal goods.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-part structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate detail paragraphs for the two years. This makes the information easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “In addition” help signal relationships. The progression is generally logical, but the organisation by year leads to some missed direct comparisons between the periods. Cohesion is also occasionally mechanical, with repeated openings such as “In 1968” and “In 2018,” and the reference in “the little figure in both years” is unclear because the preceding sentence gives only the 1968 value. Grouping the data by increases, decreases, and stable categories would create a more connected comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing chart data, including “expenditure,” “highest figure,” “followed by,” and “almost half.” These choices communicate the main trends, though some expressions are imprecise or unnatural for this task. For example, “different family groups” suggests categories of families rather than spending categories, and “leisure is the activity” does not accurately describe a spending category. “The second common trend” is also an awkward way to describe housing’s ranking. There are spelling and word-choice issues, including “footware” and “little figure.” Aim for precise terms such as “category,” “share,” and “proportion,” and use consistent phrasing to compare percentages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “while” and a relative clause in “on which individuals spent a lot.” Most sentences remain understandable, and errors rarely obscure the intended meaning. Some grammatical inaccuracies are present, however: “which was the highest figure … over the period” does not clearly match the 1968-only figure, and “the expenditure … was exactly the same of about 8 percent” has an incorrect construction. In “people spend on food 17 percent,” the verb form and sentence structure are faulty; use “people spent 17 percent on food.” Check agreement and phrasing in “fuel and power was,” and make sure comparisons are expressed with a complete, accurate structure.

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