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 bar graph provides data of country regarding money spent by households per week during year 1968 vs 2018.

Overall, in 1968, biggest proportion of weekly income was spent on food and other necessities had pretty levelled contribution. Meanwhile in 2018, leisure had highest points in graph and then followed food and housing.

In the year 1968, the households were spending 35% of their money on food and for the housing 10%, same as for clothes and footwear. The personal and household items along with the transport expenditures were same, each costing somehow 7-8% of income weekly. While fuel and power consumed least revenue below 5%.

On the other hand, during year 2018, people spent most of their weekly wages on leisure (above 20%). Resources spent on food and housing were about 17% and 19%. per week. Besides transport (14%) and household goods (8%), other necessities costed below 5% of weekly expenses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response identifies the main contrast: food dominates spending in 1968, while leisure is highest in 2018, with housing and food also prominent. It includes several relevant figures, such as food at 35% in 1968 and leisure above 20% in 2018. However, some details are inaccurate or too vague: fuel and power was 6% in 1968, not below 5%, and the 2018 categories below 5% were fuel and power and personal goods, rather than “other necessities” generally. The overview’s claim that 1968 spending on “other necessities” was fairly levelled is also unclear. To strengthen the report, state the main rises and falls more precisely, including the increase in housing and transport and the decline in clothing and fuel.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the two years. The contrastive opening “On the other hand” helps signal the move to 2018, and the information is generally easy to follow. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. “Meanwhile” introduces the overview contrast, but the relationship between “food and other necessities” is not explained, and “Besides transport … other necessities” groups several categories imprecisely. The sentence beginning “While fuel and power…” is a fragment, which interrupts the flow from the preceding sentence. Use complete sentences and organise the comparisons around the largest changes, rather than listing categories with broad labels.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “contribution,” “expenditures,” and “consumed,” and the meaning is generally clear. However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise for describing a chart. “Highest points in graph” would be better expressed as “the largest share,” while “costing” and “consumed least revenue” do not accurately describe proportions of income. “Costed” is also an unsuitable form in “other necessities costed below 5%.” There are spelling and form issues in “levelled” and “footwear” (the chart label is footwear, but the response writes “footwear” correctly in one place; ensure consistent spelling and phrasing). Aim for precise collocations such as “accounted for,” “made up,” and “share of weekly income,” and avoid vague terms such as “resources.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is some variety in sentence forms, including the overview contrast and the comparison introduced by “On the other hand,” and most of the intended meaning can be understood. Some grammatical errors remain. The opening needs an article and a clearer construction: “provides data of country” could be “shows how families in a country spent their weekly income.” In “in 1968, biggest proportion,” the superlative needs “the.” The sentence “While fuel and power consumed least revenue below 5%” is a dependent clause without a main clause, and “Resources … were about 17% and 19%. per week” has faulty punctuation and sentence structure. Check articles, sentence completeness, and punctuation, especially when joining comparisons.

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