Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-25

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 7.0)

The bar chart compares the weekly income spent by some families in a particular country in 1968 and in 2018.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that food was accounted for the highest percentage of the weekly income in1968, whereas in 2018 highest proportion of income goes in leisure per week. Previously, fuel and power had the lowest share of the income but in 2018 besides fuel and power, personal goods also have the lowest share.

Over the years, weekly expenses like fuel and power decreased from approximately 6% to 4%, whereas clothing and footwear and personal goods are declined to the half of the previous percentage. However, food showed the biggest fall from 35% to approximately 17% in weekly expense.

The household goods remains same over the years at about 7%. Moreover, Housing and transport expenses almost doubled in 2018 when compared with 1968, reached to approximately 19% and 14% respectively. Lastly, leisure expense increased dramatically from approximately 8% to approximately 22%, having the highest share of weekly income in 2018.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The response selects the main features accurately and gives a clear overview: food was the largest category in 1968, while leisure led in 2018, and the lowest-spending categories are identified for both years. The comparisons are well supported with figures, including food falling from 35% to 17%, leisure rising to 22%, and housing and transport increasing. The statement that clothing and personal goods fell by half is also consistent with the chart. One small precision issue is that household goods are reported as about 7%, whereas the chart shows 8% in both years; this does not undermine the overall account. To make the report even more complete, retain exact chart values consistently when describing unchanged categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised effectively into an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of supporting comparisons. The progression from the largest and smallest categories to changes in other spending areas is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “Moreover” help signal relationships. The final paragraph also groups the unchanged household-goods figure with increases in housing, transport, and leisure. Some transitions feel slightly formulaic, particularly “Lastly,” and the repeated use of “Over the years” and “Moreover” could be reduced. More deliberate grouping—for example, separating declining categories from those that rose or stayed stable—would make the progression still more cohesive and flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of task-relevant vocabulary, including “percentage,” “proportion,” “decreased,” “fall,” “doubled,” and “increased dramatically.” These choices allow the writer to describe both directions and the scale of change, and the meaning remains clear. However, some collocations are awkward or imprecise: “food was accounted for the highest percentage” and “highest proportion of income goes in leisure” do not sound natural in this context. “Weekly expenses like” is also less precise than language referring to spending categories. The response shows some willingness to vary vocabulary, but greater control of natural chart-description phrases and accurate word forms is needed for a stronger, more flexible range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including contrast clauses with “whereas” and “but,” and the comparisons are generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “food was accounted for the highest percentage,” the passive construction is not formed correctly; “food accounted for” would be grammatical. “Clothing and footwear and personal goods are declined” has an incorrect verb form, while “The household goods remains” has a subject–verb agreement error. There are also missing articles in “in 2018 highest proportion” and “in weekly expense,” and the opening phrase “in1968” needs spacing. Improving verb forms, agreement, and article use would make the sentences more consistently accurate.

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