Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-21

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 graph illustrates information about the weekly expenditures of the families in a specific country in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the chart covers eight kinds of expenses most families do weekly. The food is a basic need so it was highest among all the expenses. In contrast, the least amount of money every family spent is on fuel and power. Whereas, the other remaining categories on which families spent thier money do not cover such a great percentage of their income.

Furthermore, back in 1968 the food was covering more than 35% of the families income and in 2018 the food expenses going down to 15%. Similarly, fuel and power was having more than 5% income of the families as expenses and now it comes down to less than 5%. The highest rise has been seen in the leisure as it was seems to be around 10% back in 1968 and now it gains a significant percentage and reaches more than 20% of the families income.

Moreover, the personal goods also fell down from 10% to 5%. In contrast, the household goods remained same till now.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s subject and provide an overview, noting food as the largest category in 1968 and leisure’s substantial rise by 2018. Several reported trends are broadly accurate, including the declines in food and fuel and power, and the stability of household goods. However, some figures are imprecise or incorrect: food is about 35% in 1968 and 17% in 2018, rather than “more than 35%” and 15%; personal goods fall from about 8% to 4%, not 10% to 5%. The overview also incorrectly calls fuel and power the lowest category in both years; clothing and footwear is lower in 2018. Housing and transport, both important increases, are omitted, so the comparison is only partly developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Furthermore,” and “Moreover” help signal the stages of the report, and the reader can follow the main comparisons. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some features of stronger progression. However, the overview’s “Whereas” sentence is not grammatically or logically connected to a contrasting clause, and “In contrast” before household goods does not clearly establish what is being contrasted. Grouping the increases together and the decreases or stable figures together would create a more purposeful progression and reduce the somewhat mechanical use of transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a chart, including “weekly expenditures,” “percentage,” “rise,” “fell,” and “remained same,” so the main message is generally understandable. There is some attempt to vary expressions, for example “covering” and “reaches,” but several choices are imprecise or unnatural for data reporting: “the food was covering” and “it gains a significant percentage” do not clearly describe a share of income. Spelling errors such as “thier” and “footware” also reduce accuracy. The range is adequate for basic comparisons, but more precise collocations and consistent use of terms such as “accounted for” and “share” would make the report clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “Whereas, the other remaining categories…” and “as it was seems to be around 10%.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain. For example, “the food expenses going down” needs a finite verb, while “it was seems” combines incompatible verb forms. “The household goods remained same” also needs an article, and “the families income” needs a possessive form. These issues do not generally prevent understanding, but they limit accuracy. Practise forming complete clauses with consistent past-tense verbs and checking possessives and articles.

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