Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-28

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 6.5)

The give chart compares the average weekly spending on different categories by families in 1968 and 2018 in one country.

Overall, percentage of income spent on food,fuel and power, clothing and footware, personal goods decreased throughout the given period, while proportion of housing, transport and leisure increased. Average weekly spending on hosuehold goods remained same in both years.

In1968, 35% of total income was spent on food, followed by 10% on housing and clothing and footware. The percentage of 5% to 10% accounted for household goods, personal goods, transport and leisure each. The least proportion of income was spent on fuel and power at approximately 6%.

in 2018, leisure became the main spending category at more than 20%. The proportion of income spent on housing increased to approximately 20%. Spending on food decreased to approximately 17%. The average spending on clothing and footware, fuel and power, personal goods also dropped at between 0% to 5%. Spending on transport increased to approximately 14% while household goods accounted for the same percenatage between 5% and 10%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

You identify the main shifts accurately: food falls from 35% to about 17%, while leisure becomes the largest category at roughly 22%; housing and transport also rise, and household goods stay level. The opening overview clearly groups the categories by direction of change, and the body includes relevant comparisons across both years. This gives the reader a sound account of the chart’s key features. To make the reporting more precise, avoid saying that several 1968 categories each accounted for “5% to 10%”: their values differ, and the chart gives specific figures. Likewise, in 2018 clothing, fuel and personal goods are not all between 0% and 5%; clothing is about 5%, while fuel and personal goods are about 4%. These small over-generalisations limit the precision of an otherwise well-focused summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear four-part structure: introduction, overview, 1968 details and 2018 details. This creates a logical progression, and contrasts such as food decreasing while leisure rises are easy to follow. Cohesive links including “Overall,” “while,” “followed by” and “In 2018” help connect the information. Some grouping is less clear, however: “The percentage of 5% to 10% accounted for…” is awkwardly organised and makes it difficult to tell which figures belong to which categories. The final sentence also combines transport and household goods without a clear contrast between their different trends. Use more precise category-by-category grouping and punctuation to make these relationships smoother and less effortful to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “accounted for,” “decreased,” “increased” and “remained same,” so the main comparisons are understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “the main spending category.” However, several word-choice and spelling issues reduce precision: “The give chart” is not a natural expression, “hosuehold” and “percenatge” are misspelled, and “footware” should be “footwear.” Phrases such as “percentage of 5% to 10%” and “dropped at between” are also imprecise or unnatural. Aim for accurate collocations such as “accounted for between 5% and 10%” and “fell to around 4–5%.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple statements and longer sentences, and most of the intended comparisons remain understandable. The overview’s contrast using “while” is a useful attempt at a more complex structure. Some grammatical errors remain, though. In “The give chart compares,” the verb form is incorrect; “The chart compares” is needed. Articles and prepositions are missing in “percentage of income spent” and “at between 0% to 5%,” while “Average weekly spending on household goods remained same” needs “the same.” Capitalisation is also inconsistent at the start of the final paragraph, and commas are missing in places such as “food, fuel and power.” Check sentence openings, articles and parallel phrasing, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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