Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-29

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 bar chart illustrates how the families spent their weekly income on household expenditure living in a country over a period of 1968 to 2018.

Overall, it is notable that in the beginning of the period food was accounted for the highest expenditure by the end it declined. While leisure was observed to the least but was the highest in the end of the period. In contrast, household goods remain relatively stable through the period.

In 1968, people spend highest amount of spending in food which was 35% weekly but it declined to 15% in 2018. Whereas housing was stood at 10% of total weekly income, it rises to around 18%. Additionally fuel and power and personal goods was high in 1968 just 6% and 8% respectively, it declined significantly to 4% in both.

Looking, at clothing and footware which was high former of 10% droped to 5% in 2018. Moreover, transport and liesure was significant in 1968 approximately of 7% and 8% respectively. It roses to nearly 14% and 23% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You provide a clear overview of the main shifts: food falls from the largest share in 1968, while leisure becomes the largest in 2018, and household goods remains stable. Most figures are accurately reported, including food, housing, fuel and power, clothing, and the rise in transport and leisure. This gives the response a well-focused account of the chart. A few details are less precise: transport and leisure in 1968 are given as about 7% and 8%, rather than approximately 8% and 9%, and the food figure for 2018 is stated as 15% rather than about 17%. These small discrepancies do not obscure the overall trends, but closer checking would make the comparisons more dependable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping the figures. The overview identifies the most important changes, and linking expressions such as “In contrast,” “Additionally,” and “Moreover” help signal comparisons. This is a coherent arrangement, with some progression from the largest categories to the remaining ones. However, several links are awkward or unclear, particularly “While leisure was observed to the least but was the highest” and “Additionally fuel and power and personal goods was high.” The final paragraph also combines several categories without a fully clear comparison pattern. Use simpler transitions and organise the details consistently by decreases, increases, and stable figures to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of chart-related vocabulary, including “expenditure,” “declined,” “relatively stable,” and “approximately,” which allows you to describe both proportions and trends. Some attempts at more formal phrasing show awareness of an academic register. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “the families spent their weekly income on household expenditure living in a country,” “was high former,” and “it roses.” There are also spelling errors in “footware,” “droped,” and “liesure.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message, but they reduce precision and fluency. Prefer direct, conventional chart language and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “While” and “Whereas,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, some grammatical errors recur in verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “people spend” should be “people spent,” “housing was stood” is not a correct passive construction, and “fuel and power and personal goods was” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The overview sentence beginning “While leisure…” is also incomplete or incorrectly joined to the following clause. Aim to build shorter, complete sentences first, then add accurate comparisons; check past-tense forms and ensure each clause has a clear subject and verb.

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