Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-06

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 given bar chart represents types of accommodations owned and rented by the residents of the England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.

Overall, the starting year 1918 has the highest number of rented houses at that time and by the time, it shows gradual decrease over the period. While self-owned places also started with the slow growth and had an increase until the 2001.

Initially, almost 75% of houses were rented and also, it was the highest number among of all. In 1939 and 53 the numbers of borrowed houses remained same. After 8 years it was less than 60% and also, showed gradual decrease of 50%, 40%, just over 30% in 1971, 1981,1991 and 2001 respectively. Although, it showed slight increase around 35% in 2011.

Secondly, almost 20% of houses were owned and it has gradual increase of 30% in 1939 and 53. While approximately 40% in 1961 and over the period it has increase of 50%, 60 in 1971 and 1981 respectively. Furthermore, it was at its peak in 2001, less than 70%. But It was down to 60% in 2011.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by covering both housing categories across the entire time period from 1918 to 2011, providing an adequate overview in the second paragraph. Key features and comparisons are selected and reported, such as the initial dominance of rented housing and the subsequent inversion of the trend where home ownership peaked in 2001. However, some aspects are under-developed or imprecise. For instance, the description of intermediate years contains minor inaccuracies in data interpretation, such as grouping 1939 and 1953 incorrectly for rented housing or miscalculating progression percentages. Nevertheless, the main trends are adequately captured, placing the response above the baseline requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the content into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for rented and owned accommodation. Information and ideas are logically sequenced. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. The use of transitional markers like 'Secondly' is unnatural for comparing two data series in a chart description, and referencing or linking between sentences can feel disjointed. Paragraphing is present and separates the categories logically, but the flow within paragraphs lacks seamless progression due to somewhat repetitive structural choices.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, representing a basic range adequate for the task but lacking flexibility. There are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as referring to rented properties as 'borrowed houses', stating 'types of accommodations owned', and using phrases like 'gradual increase of 30%' where percentage points or proportional rises are intended. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score. The student attempts some less common terms like 'gradual decrease' and 'peak', but lacks precision and stylistic awareness appropriate for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include awkward phrasing and preposition use, such as 'residents of the England and Wales', missing articles, and inaccurate tense usage or temporal prepositions like 'in 1939 and 53 the numbers... remained same'. Complex structures often contain faults, such as dangling modifiers or awkward coordination. Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas (e.g., '1981,1991'), further detract from the overall accuracy of the writing.

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