Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-04

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 7.5)

The bar chart illustrates information about how families in one country spent their weekly income on eight different categories in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, it is clear that food recorded the highest figure of weekly spending in 1968, whereas leisure became the biggest expense in 2018. Moreover, spending on food decreased considerably, while leisure and housing saw significant increase.

Looking at the first year, food was the biggest expense, according for 35% of total weekly income. This figure was much higher than all other categories. Housing and clothing both represented 10% , while leisure stood at 9%. In addition, household goods and personal goods and transport each accounted for 8%. Fuel and power had the lowest figure at 6%.

IN 2018, leisure became the largest category at 22% followed by housing at 19%. Food spending dropped significantly to 17 %, while transport increased to 14% , Household goods remained unchanged at 8%. By contrast clothing fell to 5%, whereas personal goods and fuel and power accounted for only 4% each.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The response covers the main features accurately and gives a clear overview: food was the largest spending category in 1968, while leisure led in 2018, and food spending fell as leisure and housing rose. The figures reported are consistent with the chart, including the unchanged 8% for household goods and the low 4% shares for personal goods and fuel in 2018. The comparisons are well selected and supported with relevant data across both years. To make the account even more complete, you could explicitly note that transport also rose substantially, from 8% to 14%, and distinguish the categories that declined from those that remained stable. Overall, the key information is well covered, with only minor scope for fuller comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The organisation is clear and effective: an introduction is followed by an overview, then a paragraph for each year. This gives the reader a logical progression from the broad trends to supporting figures. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Moreover,” “In addition,” and “By contrast” help signal relationships between points. Some connections could be more precise, however. The 2018 paragraph moves through categories in a list-like sequence, and the capitalised “IN 2018” is visually inconsistent with the rest of the response. Grouping the figures by rising, falling, and unchanged categories would create stronger internal progression and make comparisons between years more explicit. Cohesion is generally well managed, though a few transitions feel mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing chart data, including “recorded the highest figure,” “represented,” “accounted for,” “decreased considerably,” and “remained unchanged.” These choices are generally clear and appropriately formal, and the repeated use of percentage language does not obscure the information. Some collocations are less natural: “housing and clothing both represented 10%” would be more idiomatic as “accounted for 10% each,” while “saw significant increase” needs an article or a different construction. “Biggest expense” is understandable but could be varied with “largest spending category.” Check spelling as well: the chart label is “footwear,” not “footware.” More precise and consistently natural collocations would strengthen the overall control of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response includes a useful mix of simple and complex forms, such as the contrast in “food recorded the highest figure … whereas leisure became the biggest expense” and the clause beginning “while leisure and housing saw…”. Most sentences communicate the intended comparisons clearly. Some grammatical and punctuation slips remain: “spending on food decreased considerably, while leisure and housing saw significant increase” needs “a significant increase”; “food was the biggest expense, according for 35%” has an incorrect participle construction; and the final paragraph contains comma splices or inconsistent sentence boundaries, particularly around “transport increased to 14%, Household goods…”. Use consistent sentence case and separate independent clauses with a full stop or semicolon. These issues are noticeable but do not prevent understanding; more reliable control of verb forms, articles, and punctuation would improve accuracy.

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.