Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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 chart illustrates the data about the weekly spending of the income of families in a country in 1968 compared with 2018.

Overall, the spending on food shows a dramatical decline whereas, there is a significant rise in transport, housing and leisure expenses in 2018. While, there is marginal decline in spending on personal goods, clothing and footware and fuel and power.

To begin with 1968, food was the most important thing on which people spent the major shares of about 35% of their income. Whereas , housing and clothing and footware took the second highest share of their income which is about 10%. Leisure was recorded 9% share of the income. Household, personal goods and transport were lied on the same amount of share which is of about 8%. While the Fuel and power was taken the least share of about 6% from the income.

In contrast, in 2018 there is dramatical fall in the spending on food is shown. While the significant rise is recorded in three of about 22%, 19% and 14% respectively. Spending on Household goods remain stable whereas, slight fall is shown in the remaining items

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main contrast accurately: food falls substantially, while housing, transport and leisure take larger shares in 2018. The overview also notes the smaller declines and stable household-goods figure, and most reported 1968 values match the chart. This gives the response a clear account of the key features. However, the 2018 paragraph is less fully developed: it gives the three increased figures (22%, 19% and 14%) without naming which belongs to each category, and it does not state the approximate fall in food from 35% to 17%. Naming and comparing these figures explicitly would make the coverage more complete and precise. The response addresses the task, but some selected features are reported less fully than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then separate descriptions of 1968 and 2018. The contrast marker “In contrast” helps signal the change between years, and the information is generally easy to follow. Some linking is mechanical or awkward, however: repeated “While” openings and constructions such as “Whereas” after a full stop interrupt the flow. In the final paragraph, “the significant rise is recorded in three of about…” leaves the reader to infer which figures match which categories, so the reference is unclear. Use direct links such as “Leisure rose to 22%, housing to 19%, and transport to 14%” and vary transitions to create smoother progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a relevant range of chart vocabulary, including “share,” “decline,” “rise,” “recorded,” and “remain stable,” which allows you to describe the main trends. Some attempts at more formal or varied wording are not natural or precise, such as “dramatical decline,” “the most important thing,” and “were lied on the same amount of share.” There are also spelling errors in “footware” and “dramatically.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall message, but they reduce accuracy and naturalness. Prefer concise, standard collocations for data description, such as “fell sharply,” “accounted for,” and “stood at the same proportion.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons introduced by “whereas” and “while,” and the overall meaning is usually clear. However, some sentence structures are incomplete or incorrectly joined. For example, “Whereas, housing and clothing… took…” is a fragment when separated from the preceding sentence, and “While the significant rise is recorded in three…” is also incomplete. In “there is dramatical fall in the spending on food is shown,” the competing structures make the sentence difficult to control. Articles and agreement also need attention, as in “the Fuel and power was taken.” Build complete sentences around one main clause, and check punctuation and verb forms when using contrast clauses.

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