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 chart illustrates the average weekly revenue spent by families in the year of 1968 and 2018.

Looking up on the category of food we can survey that the average weekly income of the families has a massive decline in year 2018 in contrast to year 2018 the percentage showing is approximately declining from 35% to direct 16% to 17% respectively. The average money spent on fuel and power, personal goods and clothing and footware are showing relatively similiar bars. In year 1968 the fuel and power was around 6% , the personal goods were around 8% and clothing and footware were about 10% where as first two of them dropped to estimately 4% in the year 2018. Meanwhile the third one decreased to only 5% in 2018.

There is drastic incline in the percentages of housing, transport and leisure category of about 19%, 14% and 22% respectively during 2018 as compared to 1968.One of the major category which remained constant in both of the years was the household goods. In the years 1968 and 2018 it showed a consistent percentage of 6% to 7%.

To sum up all the information discussed above. we can conclude that the families spent their most of the weekly income on the food, housing and leisure. The difference between the two years 1968 and 2018 is pretty much clear and observeable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify several important changes, including the fall in food spending and increases in housing, transport and leisure, and you include relevant figures for many categories. This gives the response a clear basis for comparison. However, the overview is not fully accurate: household goods stayed at about 8% in both years, rather than 6–7%, and the claim that families spent most on food, housing and leisure does not distinguish the two years. In 1968, food was by far the largest category; in 2018, leisure was highest, followed by housing. The opening comparison also mistakenly says “in contrast to year 2018” where 1968 is intended. A more precise overview and accurate reporting of the stable category would complete the task more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two paragraphs comparing categories, and a concluding statement. Grouping the smaller categories together and then discussing housing, transport and leisure helps the reader follow the main comparisons. However, progression is sometimes weakened by unclear or mechanical phrasing, such as “Looking up on the category of food we can survey,” and the conclusion repeats general information rather than sharpening the overview. Some links between ideas are also awkward: “There is drastic incline” does not clearly connect the figures to the earlier comparison. Use a concise overview paragraph after the introduction, then organise details into clear groups, with accurate references such as “the former” or “the latter” where needed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of vocabulary for describing change, including “massive decline,” “drastic incline,” “remained constant” and “consistent percentage.” These choices show an effort to avoid repeating basic terms, and the chart’s categories are generally named clearly. However, several expressions are unnatural or imprecise for this task: “average weekly revenue spent” confuses income with expenditure, while “direct 16% to 17%” and “estimatel y” make the data difficult to interpret. Spelling errors such as “similiar” and “observeable,” along with inconsistent spelling of “footwear,” also reduce accuracy. Prefer standard chart language and check spelling and collocations carefully so that varied vocabulary remains precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “whereas” and clauses introduced by “which.” However, control is uneven, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, “in contrast to year 2018” gives the wrong comparison, while “the average weekly income … has a massive decline” has an awkward tense and sentence structure. The sentence beginning “There is drastic incline” also lacks an article, and punctuation is inconsistent, including missing spaces after full stops and a lower-case “we” after a sentence break. Build comparisons with a clear subject and verb—for example, “Food spending fell from about 35% in 1968 to 17% in 2018”—and proofread articles, tense, and sentence boundaries.

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