Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The bar char compares the weekly wages spent by families in 1968 and 2018.

Overall, the most money payed weekly on was food 1968, while leisure was the most in 2018. The least in both was fuel and power while the most common consumption was on household goods.

To begin with, In year 1968 the most money spent on a weekly basis was food with 35%, followed by housing and clothing and footware with 10% each. After that leisure, transport and personal goods with 8%, 7% and 7% respectively. The least money on fuel and power with 6%.

While In Year 2018 the most money spent was leisure with 22% and least were personal goods and fuel and power with 4% each. The second most money spent on was Housing with 19% , followed by food 17% . After that households goods and clothing and footware with 7% and 5% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main shift clearly: food is the largest category in 1968, while leisure leads in 2018, and you include several relevant figures. However, some details are inaccurate: in 1968, transport and personal goods were each 8%, not 7%; in 2018, household goods were 8%, not 7%. The overview also says fuel and power was the smallest category in both years, but in 2018 it tied with personal goods at 4%, so this needs to be stated more precisely. The claim that household goods was the “most common consumption” is unclear and does not reflect the chart. More accurate reporting and a clearer overview of the major changes would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the two years. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and phrases such as “To begin with” and “While” signal movement between sections. The organisation is coherent, but some linking is mechanical, and the lists of categories and figures are not always smoothly connected. For example, “After that leisure, transport and personal goods…” is a sentence fragment rather than a complete comparison. The overview’s reference to household goods is also unclear, weakening the progression of ideas. Use complete sentences and group figures by meaningful contrasts—for instance, categories that rose versus those that fell—to create more flexible cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to describe the chart, including “weekly,” “followed by,” “least,” and “respectively,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several word choices and collocations are imprecise. “Weekly wages spent” does not accurately describe the chart, which shows the proportion of weekly income allocated to categories; “money payed weekly on” is also unnatural. “Most common consumption” is unclear in this context. There are spelling errors in “payed” and “footware,” and “households goods” uses the wrong form. Aim for precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “share of weekly income,” and “expenditure on,” while checking spelling and category names.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and more developed comparisons, and the main message can usually be understood. However, some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward, including “The least money on fuel and power with 6%” and “After that leisure, transport and personal goods…”. These need a finite verb, such as “The lowest figure was for fuel and power, at 6%.” There are also errors in articles, capitalisation, and punctuation, as in “In year 1968” and “19% , followed.” The overview sentence “the most money payed weekly on was food 1968” has an unclear structure. Practise complete comparative sentences and consistent past-tense reporting to improve accuracy and control.

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.