Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-31

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 chart summarizes the expenses of families on the basis of their weekly income and a comparison is done between the years 1968 and 2018.

In the year 1968 people almost spent their 35% of their salaries for food which is the highest among all the catagories. Comparing the same catogory which is the food, in the year 2018 there is a sharp decline seen in the expenditure which is almost 17%. In the year 1968 people did not spent much over the housing, only 10% of the salaries were spent over it, on the contrary we can see rise in the year 2018 over spending on the housing which is about 19%.

Money spent over fuel and power lies in the range of 4% to 12% respectively while comparison. Intially the spending over clothing and footware was more in the year of 1968 tha is about 10%, which eventually declined to 5% in the year 2018. Household goods share of income remains the same in both the years that is about 8% in each year. People used to spent almost 8% on buying the personal goods, which in the coming years declined to almost 4%. The Transport consumed a low share in the year 1968 that is almost 7%, but then the expenditure over transport inreased upto 14%. Lastly the money spent on leisure was around 8% which took a sharp hike in the year 2018 reaching to almost 22%.

Overall we can say that the highest amounts spend in the year 1968 was on food, and the highest amounts spent in the year 2018 has to be on leisure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You cover the main pattern and make relevant comparisons between the two years, including the fall in food spending (about 35% to 17%), the rise in housing (10% to 19%), and leisure becoming the largest category in 2018 (about 22%). The closing overview identifies the highest-spending categories in each year. Most figures are accurate, and the response reports a good range of categories. However, the fuel-and-power comparison is unclear and inaccurate: it says spending ranged from 4% to 12%, whereas the chart shows 6% in 1968 and 4% in 2018. The transport figure for 1968 is also slightly understated at 7% rather than about 8%. A clearer overview of the broad shifts, such as the move away from food towards leisure, would make the key features more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs reporting details, and a concluding overview. Comparisons are generally easy to follow, particularly the food and housing contrasts, and linking phrases such as “on the contrary” and “but then” help signal changes. This gives the report a coherent progression. However, the second detail paragraph becomes a long sequence of category-by-category statements, so the organisation feels somewhat mechanical rather than grouped by meaningful trends. Some transitions are awkward or unclear, especially “while comparison” in the fuel sentence, and the final overview repeats information already stated without drawing together the broader pattern. Grouping related decreases and increases, and using more precise links between them, would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “expenditure,” “decline,” “share of income,” and “consumed a low share,” which allows you to describe the chart and its changes. Some wording is less natural or imprecise, however: “spent their 35% of their salaries,” “spent over the housing,” and “took a sharp hike” do not collocate smoothly in this context. There are also spelling errors such as “catagories,” “footware,” “Intially,” and “inreased.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the comparisons, but they reduce accuracy and polish. Aim for consistent, natural phrases such as “accounted for,” “spending on,” and “rose sharply,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “which” clauses and contrast structures such as “but then.” The main meaning is usually clear, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “people did not spent” should use the base form after “did not,” and “the highest amounts spend” needs a correct participle and singular/plural agreement. There are also awkward article and possessive patterns in “their 35% of their salaries,” while “the highest amounts spent … has to be” has an agreement problem. Several sentences are long and joined with commas, which makes the structure less controlled. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build shorter, well-punctuated comparisons alongside complex sentences.

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