Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The bar chart illustrates the percentages of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

Overall, the proportion of households in owned accommodation increased significantly till 2001. However, the share of the people living in rented homes decreased until 2001. the households in rented accommodation accounted for the highest percentage in 1918, whereas households in owned accommodation recorded the largest share in 2001.

In 1918, people living in rented house accounted for around 77%, which is the largest among the period surveyed. Additionally, this figure decresed to almost 68% in 1939 and remained unchanged in 1953. Moreover, the share then fell to approximately 59% in 1961 before reaching 50% in 1971. In 1971, the share of both the categories remained equal. However, the proportion then reached at 40% in 1981 before falling to around 32% in 1991. The share again fell slightly to 31% in 2001 before increasing to around 36% in 2011.

On the other hand, households in owned accommodation accounted for only 22% in 1918, which is the lowest across the years. This figure stood at around 32% in 1939 and remained stable in 1953. The share then rose to 40.5% in 1961 before reaching 50% in 1971. This percentage increased significantly to 60% in 1981 and approximately 68% in 1991. This figure peaked at almost 69% in 2001 before falling to around 64% in 2011.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and detailing the main trends and data points for both categories from 1918 to 2011. Key features, such as the inversion of dominance between owned and rented housing around 1971, are highlighted effectively. Data points are cited accurately from the chart, including the starting figures of 23% and 77% in 1918, the peak of owned housing at almost 69% in 2001, and the final figures in 2011. The selection of data is well-judged and supports a clear comparison throughout the period.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Ideas are logically sequenced, moving from a clear introduction and overall summary to detailed body paragraphs examining each category in turn. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two housing types. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'However', 'Additionally', and 'On the other hand' are managed well to guide the reader through the data, although there is a minor punctuation slip at the beginning of the second paragraph ('the households in rented accommodation...'). Overall, progression is clear and logical throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient and generally flexible range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, using appropriate terms such as 'proportion', 'percentage', 'remained stable', 'peaked', and 'fluctuated'. There are occasional slight awkwardnesses or inaccuracies in word choice or phrasing, such as 'people living in rented house' (instead of 'houses') and 'reached at 40%' (where 'reached' takes a direct object), but these minor errors do not impede communication and a good variety of vocabulary is successfully attempted.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response exhibits a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and adverbial time markers effectively (e.g., 'which is the largest among the period surveyed'). Grammatical control is generally strong with many error-free sentences, though there are a few minor mechanical errors, such as a missing capital letter at the start of a sentence ('the households in rented accommodation...') and a tense inconsistency ('decresed'). These errors are occasional and do not prevent the meaning from being communicated clearly.

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