Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-10

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 6.5)

The given bar chart compares the proportion of the owned housing and rented housing in the England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.

Overall, it is clear that the number of owned households were increased by 2001, while rented accomodations were decreased over the same period. In contrast, owned households had the least proportion intially, whereas rented households were the highest of that time.

In 1918, the proportion of rented housing accounted for 78%, followed by owned households at 22%, furthermore it increased to 32% in1939 and remained the same by 1953. On the other hand, rented housing comprised same figures from 1953 to 1961, and after that it started decline from 68% to 32% by 2001. In 1961, the population of the England and Wales had the 40% share of owned housing, then it followed an upward trend and saw a considerable rise at 69% by 2001.

After a decade, owned housing percentage experienced a minor drop to 64%, however rented housing marginally escalated again to 36% in 2011.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main long-term pattern accurately: ownership rises from about 22% to a peak of 69% in 2001, while renting falls before partly recovering in 2011. The overview also notes that renting was initially dominant and ownership initially had the smaller share. Most reported figures match the chart, including the plateau from 1939 to 1953 and the final reversal. However, some details are incomplete or imprecise: the rented share is described as declining from 1953 to 1961, although it remains at 68% through 1953 and then falls to 59% in 1961; the account also skips the 1981 figures. The overview says ownership increased by 2001 but could more clearly state that the two categories meet at 50% in 1971 and ownership then becomes dominant.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction and overview to earlier figures and then the final decade. This makes the main comparison easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “On the other hand,” and “After a decade” help signal relationships. Some connections are less precise or mechanical, however. “Furthermore” joins the 1918 and 1939 figures awkwardly, while “On the other hand” does not clearly introduce a contrast when describing the rented figures. The phrase “After a decade” also requires the reader to infer that it refers to the period after 2001. Grouping the data into clearer stages—early years, the crossover and rise, and the 2011 reversal—and using more exact references would make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “accounted for,” “upward trend,” “considerable rise,” and “marginally escalated.” These choices communicate the broad changes, and the meaning remains clear despite some inaccurate or awkward expressions. For example, “the population … had the 40% share of owned housing” is not a natural way to describe the chart; “households” or “the proportion of households” would be more precise. “Owned housing percentage” and “rented housing” are also used where “the percentage of households in owner-occupied accommodation” and “the rented share” would sound more natural. Check spelling in “accomodations” and “intially,” and use “accommodation” as an uncountable noun in this context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while,” “whereas,” and “although,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain. In “the number of owned households were increased,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the passive form is unnecessary; write “the proportion of owner-occupied households increased.” The phrase “rented housing comprised same figures” is missing an article and has an unclear grammatical construction; “the rented share remained the same” is clearer. There are also missing spaces in “in1939” and punctuation issues where commas join contrasting clauses. More consistent control of articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries would improve accuracy while preserving your range of structures.

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