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 flow chart illustrates how households spend its weekly earnings in one particular nation in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, there are eight expenditure where familities spend most of its weekly resources. Spending on food was the highest back in 1968 while money spend on leisure was most in 2018.

To begin with, households spend 35% of its weekly income in 1968 while the proportion for 2018 was around 17%. For housing expenditure about 10% in 1968 while for the year 2018 the percentage dramatic increase with around 19%. Transport expenditure was around 6% and 14% respectively. For the leisure 9% in 1968 but in 2018 it amount can be seen dramatically increased and stood at 23%.

The low expenditure can be seen in personal goods with 7% and 4%. Subsquently, the household goods expense is same in both years about 7%. 4% and 6% of income used to spend on fuel and power respectively. For clothing and footware the proportion was 10% and 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response identifies the chart’s main contrast: food takes the largest share in 1968, while leisure is highest in 2018. It also reports several relevant comparisons, including food (35% to about 17%), housing (10% to 19%), and clothing (10% to 5%), so the key features are generally selected and supported with figures. The overview is clear, although “there are eight expenditure” is vague and does not summarise the overall shifts across categories. There is also a notable reversal in the fuel figures: the chart shows about 6% in 1968 and 4% in 2018, but the response gives these in the opposite order. For a stronger account, check each year carefully and highlight the broader rise in leisure, housing and transport against the fall in food and clothing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The sequence from the largest categories to smaller expenditures is broadly logical, and phrases such as “To begin with” and “Subsequently” help signal movement through the data. This gives the reader a clear general route through the comparison. However, some links are mechanical, and the final paragraph groups several categories without a clear organising principle. References such as “the proportion” and “it” are occasionally unclear, while the overview’s “there are eight expenditure” does not connect smoothly to the main trends. To strengthen progression, group categories by whether their shares rose, fell or stayed similar, and use clearer links between those groups.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant topic vocabulary, including “weekly income,” “proportion,” “expenditure,” and “dramatically increased,” and the reader can understand the main comparisons. However, the range and control are limited by repeated use of “spend/spending” and several inaccurate or unnatural expressions. For example, “the low expenditure can be seen” is an awkward way to introduce the smallest figures, and “it amount can be seen dramatically increased” is not idiomatic. Spelling errors such as “familities,” “Subsquently,” and “footware” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise reporting verbs and natural collocations, while checking spelling and avoiding repeated general terms such as “expense” and “spend.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There are attempts to use both simple and more developed sentence forms, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in sentence construction and agreement occur often enough to limit clarity. Examples include “households spend its weekly earnings,” where the subject and pronoun do not agree, and “For housing expenditure about 10% in 1968,” which is a sentence fragment. The construction “the percentage dramatic increase” also lacks the required verb form, while “the household goods expense is same” is missing an article and uses an incomplete comparison structure. Work on complete clauses, subject–verb agreement, articles and past-tense reporting. More accurate sentence patterns will make the numerical comparisons easier to follow.

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