Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart compares the percentage of weekly income spent by the families in a country on eight different categories in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, food had accounted for the largest share of expenditure in 1968, whereas leisure became the highest category in 2018. Most categories changed noticeably over the period , with the exception of household goods which remained unchanged .

Spending on food fell sharply from 35% in 1968 to around 17% by 2018, which was the biggest decline . Clothing and footware also dropped from 10% to 5%, while personal good declined from 8% to 4%. Similarly, the share spends on fuel and power fell slightly from 6% to 4%.

By contrast, three categories shows the upward trend . Lersure showed the largest increase , rose from 9% to 22% and becoming the top category in 2018. Housing climbed from 10% to 19% , and transport went up from 8% to 14% . Household goods, however, stood at 8% in both years .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response gives a clear overview of the main shifts: food was the largest category in 1968, leisure led in 2018, and household goods stayed stable. It also selects the key rises and falls and reports the figures accurately, including food’s fall from 35% to 17% and leisure’s rise from 9% to 22%. This provides a well-supported account of the chart’s main features. The overview’s phrase “Most categories changed noticeably” is broad, but the following paragraphs clarify the direction and scale of the changes. To strengthen the response further, make the overview more precise by identifying the major contrast between food’s sharp decline and the growth in leisure and housing, rather than relying on a general statement about change.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised in a clear sequence: an introduction, an overview, then paragraphs grouping decreases and increases. This makes the comparisons easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “By contrast,” “Similarly,” and “however” help signal relationships between categories. The progression is logical throughout. Some cohesion is slightly mechanical, however, because several sentences follow the same pattern of naming a category and giving its change. The overview also repeats the idea of change in general terms before the details explain it. For a more flexible flow, connect related figures within a sentence and use the overview to preview the most important contrasts more specifically.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The response uses an adequate range of chart vocabulary, including “share of expenditure,” “fell sharply,” “climbed,” and “stood at,” and the meaning remains clear. There are also some inaccurate word forms and spelling choices, such as “personal good,” “Lersure,” and “footware.” The phrase “the share spends on fuel and power” is an awkward choice, while “showed the largest increase, rose” is repetitive. These slips fit a performance where vocabulary is sufficient for the task but not consistently precise. Aim for accurate category names and natural collocations, and vary reporting verbs without combining two verbs that express the same change.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and several sentences communicate comparisons clearly, such as “Spending on food fell sharply …, which was the biggest decline.” Some grammatical errors remain but do not prevent understanding. For example, “three categories shows” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “Lersure showed the largest increase, rose … and becoming” does not maintain a consistent verb structure. The opening overview also uses the past perfect in “food had accounted” where the simple past is more appropriate for describing the chart. Review agreement and keep verb forms parallel when listing changes; these corrections would make the otherwise clear comparisons more controlled.

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