The chart below gives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
Sample Response
The chart illustrates the proportion of weekly income spent across eight categories by families in a single countrygives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
Overall, the percentages of spending on foodpercentages of food, fuel and power, clothing and footwear and personal goods decreased from 1968 to 2018. By contrast, the percentages of housing, transport and leisure increased during the 50 years.
In 1968, families allocated the highest proportion of their weekly budget to food. Specifically, foodFor example, food accounted for 35% of weekly income, compared with 10% for clothing and footwear. However, the percentage of food dropped to approximately 17%decreased by about 17 percentage points over the 50-year period. The percentages of fuel and power and personal goods were both higher in 1968 than in 2018.higher than in 2018.
Furthermore, the percentages of housing, transport and leisure increased between 1968 and 2018. In particular, the percentage of leisure increased significantly. It rose from around 9% to more than 20%. In addition, the figure for household goods stayed at the same level in 1968 and in 2018. It accountedThey both accounted for around 8% of weekly income.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response presents a very clear overview and maintains accurate grammatical control throughout the description. The main limitation is that several key categories, such as housing and transport, are described in trend terms without including their specific percentage figures. To raise the overall quality, integrate precise numerical data for all key categories being highlighted.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response provides a clear overview of general trends and presents accurate key details for major categories like food, leisure, and household goods.
Include specific percentage figures for remaining key categories such as housing and transport to ensure comprehensive data coverage.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically organized into clear thematic paragraphs with effective use of linking words.
Vary cohesive transitions across body paragraphs to avoid relying on repetitive sentence starters like 'Furthermore' and 'In addition'.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is generally accurate and appropriate for describing trends, proportions, and statistics.
Incorporate a wider variety of lexical structures for describing proportions instead of repeating the phrase 'the percentage of'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence structures are varied and consistently error-free, demonstrating strong control over grammar and punctuation.
Maintain this high level of accuracy while combining data points into more complex, multi-clause comparative structures.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below gives information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.