Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-24

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 illustrates the proportion of households between two ways of living in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011. Some people own their houses, while the others rented their accommodations.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that percentage of people living in their own houses has increased from 1918 to 2011 except the last year. Whereas, percentage of rented houses went down skipping the ending year.

On the one hand, the proportion of people with their rented houses in 1918 was appoximately 78% that declined in the next two years in 1939 and 1953 and both stopped at the same pecentages at almost 69%. Again in the next year, in 1961 it decreased to 59% then in 1971 and 1981 it falls to 50% and 40% respectively. Then in the both years of 1991 and 2001, it decreased with same percentage near to 31%. In the last year in 2011, it increased slightly and reached at approximately 37%.

On the sharp contrast to rented houses, the percentage of people with their own property escalated over the given 9 years except the last year. In the first year, in 1918 it was nearly 22% only, then increased in the next year in 1939 to 31%. From 1953 to 2001, percentage of households constantly increased and stopped at round about 69%. In the last year in 2011, it decreased to almost 64% .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main trends and making clear comparisons between owned and rented accommodation over the 1918 to 2011 period. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the main trajectory of both categories. Key data points are cited, such as the peak of homeownership at around 69% in 2001 and the dominance of renting in 1918 at approximately 77% to 78%. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some of the specific year-by-year figures (e.g., stating 1918 homeownership was 22% when it was 23%, and describing 1953 as a separate data point when it held steady from 1939). Despite these minor data reading slips, the response fully satisfies the requirements of Task Achievement at a Band 6.5 level, rounded to 6.0 based on standard band scoring conventions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement with a logical division into introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on rented and owned accommodation respectively. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions and contrasts, such as 'Overall', 'On the one hand', and 'On the sharp contrast'. However, referencing and progression are occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive (e.g., 'In the first year, in 1918 it was..., then increased in the next year in 1939...'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main data series, supporting an overall coherent structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'proportion', 'escalated', 'declined', and 'slightly'. There are some awkward phrasings and word choices, such as 'two ways of living' instead of 'housing tenures' or 'types of accommodation', and 'skipping the ending year'. Less common lexical items are attempted with mixed success, but spelling is generally accurate and communication is never impeded. This performance aligns well with Band 6 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and adverbial time markers ('from 1918 to 2011', 'while the others rented'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'the others rented their accommodations' (incorrect tense shift and uncountable noun pluralization), 'percentage of people living in their own houses has increased... except the last year', and 'reached at approximately' (superfluous preposition). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are noticeable, they rarely impede the reader's overall understanding.

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