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 chart illustrates how families in one country allocate their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, the highest weekly income in 1968 was allocated to food. The lowest weekly income spent in 1968 was on fuel and power. In 2018, the highest weekly income was allocated to leisure, while the lowest in 2018 was spent between fuel and power, and personal goods.

To start with, in 1968, food was the most spent on, receiving 35% of the weekly income of families. Housing and clothing and footware in the same year, received 10% of the weekly income. Household goods, Personal goods, Transport, sharing the same allocated weekly income of about 8%. Leisure receiving roughly 9%.

In contrast, the most allocated sector in 2018, was leisure, receiving about 23% of the weekly income. Fuel and power and Personal goods received roughly 3%. Housing receiving closely 19%. Transport allocated fairly 14% of the income. Clothing and footware allocated 5% of the weekly income. About 17% being spent on food. Household goods getting of about 4% of the income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main shift clearly: food is the largest category in 1968, while leisure leads in 2018, and you note the low categories in both years. Most figures are close to the chart, including food at 35%, housing at 19% in 2018, and transport at 14%. However, the overview says fuel and personal goods were jointly lowest in 2018, whereas household goods was also low at about 8%, not 4%; the final sentence misreports household goods, which weakens the accuracy of the comparison. The 2018 figures for fuel and personal goods are approximately 4%, rather than 3%. To strengthen the response, report the major rises and falls explicitly, especially the decline in food and the increase in leisure and housing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the two years, with “In contrast” signalling the change between them. This makes the information easy to follow. However, the body paragraphs read partly as lists, and the comparisons between years are not developed consistently. Some sentence boundaries and punctuation also interrupt the flow, such as “Housing and clothing and footware in the same year, received…” and the fragment “Leisure receiving roughly 9%.” Grouping categories by whether they rose, fell, or stayed similar would create a more connected progression. Use linking phrases to compare the same category across both years, rather than relying mainly on year-by-year listing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of chart vocabulary, including “allocate,” “receiving,” “roughly,” and “in contrast,” and the meaning is generally clear. However, some expressions are unnatural or imprecise for describing proportions: “the highest weekly income” suggests an amount of money rather than the largest share, while “the most spent on” and “allocated fairly 14%” are awkward collocations. “Receiving closely 19%” is also unclear. There are spelling and capitalisation slips, including “footware” and inconsistent capitalisation of “Personal goods.” Prefer precise phrases such as “accounted for,” “represented,” and “the largest proportion,” and check category names against the chart. This would make the vocabulary more accurate and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, and the opening sentence and overview are generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in sentence construction and punctuation. For example, “Housing and clothing and footware in the same year, received 10%” has an unnecessary comma separating the subject from its verb, while “Leisure receiving roughly 9%” is a sentence fragment. “Household goods, Personal goods, Transport, sharing…” also lacks a clear finite verb. In the 2018 paragraph, several category statements omit a subject-verb structure, such as “Housing receiving closely 19%.” Build complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use a mix of accurate comparisons and subordinate clauses. These corrections would improve control without sacrificing the range you are attempting.

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