Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-19

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The bar chart reveals the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and wales between 1918 and 2011.

Overall, households in rented accommodation is higher between 1918 to 1961. However from 1991 to 2011 households in owned accommodation is significantly increase.

In 1918, only 23% of household owned their homes, Whereas approximately 77% of household lived in rented homes. The percentage of homeowners then rose gradually, reaching around 32% in both 1939 and 1953. By 1961, it had increased to about 42%, while the figure for rented homes fell to roughly 58%. In 1971, the two figures were equal at 50%.

After 1971, home ownership continued to increase significantly. It reached about 61% in 1981 and then rose to approximately 69% in 1991. The figure peaked at around 70% in 2001 before falling slightly to 65% in 2011. In contrast, rented accommodation declined to about 41% in 1981 and remained at around 30–32% during the 1990s and 2000s. In 2011 slightly rising to approximately 35%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons of accommodation types from 1918 to 2011. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, contrasting the dominance of rented accommodation in the first half of the period with the surge in homeownership later on. Key data points, such as the 1971 equality point and the 2001 peak in home ownership, are accurately cited and supported with appropriate figures. Although there are minor discrepancies in a few intermediate percentages compared to the chart data (such as the 1961 rental figure), the overall response is fully developed and satisfies the requirements for Task Achievement well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. The information is grouped effectively into an introduction, an overview, and detailed body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Whereas', 'After 1971', and 'In contrast' are used adequately to guide the reader through the data comparisons. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, separating the general overview from the specific chronological details. However, occasional minor errors in referencing and cohesion slightly disrupt the flow, such as the awkward transition in the final sentence 'In 2011 slightly rising to approximately 35%'. Overall, the structure remains coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, using terms such as 'percentage', 'homeowners', 'accommodations', and 'declined'. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'significantly increase' (though grammatically flawed) and 'peaked'. However, there are some word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'households in owned accommodation is significantly increase', which show a lack of precision. Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical control is occasionally inconsistent, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinate clauses effectively ('Whereas approximately 77% of household lived in rented homes'). However, there are several noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('households in rented accommodation is higher', '23% of household owned') and tense or verb-form errors ('is significantly increase', 'In 2011 slightly rising'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

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