Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-02

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 graphs illustrates the expenditure of weekly wages of families on basic needs and facilities, in percentage, in a country during the year 1968 and 2018.

In 1968, 35% of weekly income of families, the highest among all, was spent on food which dropped to half, about 17% in 2018. Leisure activies held the second highest spot with a significant 22% of weekly wages in 2018 that is more than twice of what we had in 1968. Housing made a sustainable increase from 10% in 1968 to 19% in 2018. Moreover, transport showed an increase in weekly wages from 8% in 1968 to 14% in 2018.

Conversely, fuel and power, clothing and footwear and personal goods represent a contradiction from the previous trend following a decrese in the expenditure over time. 6%, 10% and 8% of weekly income was spent on fuel andpower, clothing and footwear and personal goods respectively in 1968 that reduced to 4%, 5% and 4% in 2018 respectively. Wheereas, household goods held thsame weekly income was spent during these two years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify several important comparisons accurately: food falls from 35% to about 17%, while leisure rises from 9% to 22%; housing and transport also increase, and the smaller categories generally decline or remain stable. This gives the reader a useful account of the main changes. However, the response does not state a clear overall summary of the chart’s broad pattern, such as the shift away from food towards leisure, housing and transport. Some details are also unclear: “Leisure activities held the second highest spot” does not specify that this applies to 2018, and the final point about household goods is difficult to interpret. A concise overview and clearer grouping of the main rises, falls and unchanged figure would make the coverage more complete and developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a generally sensible sequence: it first discusses food and the categories that increased, then contrasts these with categories that declined. Paragraphing supports this basic organisation, and connectors such as “Moreover” and “Conversely” help signal relationships. Some cohesion is less controlled, however. The opening sentence is separate from the data discussion, while the final sentence beginning “Whereas” is incomplete and leaves the household-goods comparison unclear. The phrase “following a decrease in the expenditure over time” also makes the contrast more cumbersome than necessary. Use a distinct overview followed by logically grouped comparisons, and ensure each linking word introduces a complete, clearly connected sentence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing change, including “dropped,” “increase,” “decrese” and “expenditure,” and the meaning is usually recoverable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “Conversely” and “significant.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this chart: “sustainable increase” does not mean a rise over time, “held the second highest spot” is informal, and “a contradiction from the previous trend” is not an appropriate description of falling figures. Spelling slips such as “activies,” “decrese” and “Wheereas,” along with “andpower” and “thsame,” reduce precision. Prefer standard chart language and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “Conversely” and a sentence comparing figures across the two years. Some structures communicate the data successfully, but grammatical control is uneven. The opening has subject–verb disagreement (“The bar graphs illustrates”), and “35% of weekly income of families … was spent” has an awkward, incomplete noun phrase. In the final section, “6%, 10% and 8% … was spent” does not agree with the plural list, while the last “Whereas” clause is not a complete sentence. The phrase “that is more than twice of what we had” also has an unclear reference. Check agreement, articles and sentence completeness, especially when combining several figures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.