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 chart provide details about how families in one country use their weekly income in 1968 and 2018.

Major portion of weekly income used to be spent on food in 1968 compared to 2018. In 1968, more than 1/3 of weekly income was being spent on food and in 2018 leisure accounts for major propertion of weekly spending.

Some noticeable spending changes between two different periods can be seen in food, housing and leisure. A significant amount of weekly income was being spent on food 1968 almost 35% compared to 2018, which is around 17%. A decline of almost 50%. Leisure has seen a major boost in spending, it was around 9% in 1968 and in 2018 it is around 22%. A 10% of weekly income was being spent on housing in 1968, which is around 18% in 2018. Other things including fuel and power, clothing and footware, household goods, personal goods and transport has only seen minor changes in spending in both years 1968 and 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main shift clearly: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure became the largest in 2018. The comparisons for food (about 35% to 17%), leisure (about 9% to 22%) and housing (10% to around 18–19%) are relevant and broadly accurate. This gives the response a clear overview and covers several important features. However, the overview could be more complete: transport also rose substantially, from 8% to 14%, so describing the remaining categories as showing only “minor changes” is too broad. Some categories are listed without figures or specific comparisons, leaving those details less fully reported. Include the key rise in transport and distinguish categories that changed little from those that shifted noticeably.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction is followed by a summary of the main pattern and then comparisons of selected categories. The reader can follow the movement from food to leisure and housing, and phrases such as “compared to 2018” and “in both years” help connect the time periods. However, the progression within the final paragraph is somewhat list-like, and the broad statement about “other things” groups several categories together without showing how they relate. The sentence beginning “Some noticeable spending changes” could introduce a more systematic comparison of increases, decreases and stable figures. Use clearer grouping and linking, while avoiding a sequence of loosely connected observations.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “major portion,” “significant amount,” “decline” and “boost,” and the meaning is generally clear. Some choices are imprecise or unnatural, however: “major propertion” is misspelled and awkward, while “other things” is too informal and vague for chart categories. “A 10% of weekly income” also expresses the figure imprecisely; the chart shows a share of 10%, not an additional amount. There is some repetition of “weekly income” and “spending,” and “minor changes” overgeneralises the data. Aim for precise terms such as “share,” “proportion” and “category,” and use verbs that accurately describe increases and decreases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “compared to” and a relative clause in “which is around 18% in 2018.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable. The opening should be “The chart provides,” and “food 1968” needs a preposition, as in “food in 1968.” The sentence “Leisure has seen a major boost in spending, it was around 9%...” joins two independent clauses with only a comma; use a full stop or a conjunction. There are also agreement and article problems in “Other things ... has” and “A 10% ... was.” Check subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries, while continuing to practise varied sentence structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.