Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-15

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 presented bar graph illustrates the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011. The graph clearly represents how households in owned and rented accommodation are reciprocal to each other. While owned ones rose through out [redacted phone], rented ones got declined over the same period of time.

In 1918, household ownership stood at around 23% compared to rentals, which were at nearly 80%. From that point there was a steady rise in ownership and decline in rentals. Rentals reached 69% in 1939 and held steady until 1953 before falling to 59% in 1961. Ownership rose to 31% in 1939 and remained there in 1953 before becoming even with rentals at 50% in 1971.

This growth and downfall continued for both percentages with rentals declining sharply to 40% and 31% in 1981 and 1991, respectively. Likewise, ownership rose to 60% and 69% in the same years. In 2001, the falling rate of rentals slackened to 31% (69% for ownership) and there was a small rebound that bucked the trend at the end of period with rented houses rising to nearly 40% and owned houses dipping to just over 60%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You cover the main pattern clearly: ownership generally rises while renting falls, the two reach parity in 1971, and the final year reverses the longer trend. The overview is supported by relevant figures, including the initial 23% ownership and the later rise to around 69%. Most intermediate values and plateaus are also reported accurately. There are a few imprecisions: ownership was about 32%, rather than 31%, in 1939 and 1953, and rentals were about 68%, rather than 69%, in those years. The statement that ownership rose throughout the whole period is also too broad, since it fell from 69% in 2001 to 64% in 2011; you do identify this late decline later. Overall, the key features are selected and supported, with minor over-generalisation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into a clear introduction and overview followed by chronological detail, and the reader can follow the comparison from 1918 to 2011. Linking phrases such as “From that point,” “Likewise,” and “In 2001” help signal progression, while the paired ownership and rental figures make the relationship easy to understand. However, some connections are mechanical or imprecise: “This growth and downfall continued” does not clearly identify which series is rising or falling, and “the same years” refers to two dates rather than a single period. The overview and the final paragraph also repeat the reciprocal trend. More precise referencing and a little less repetition would make cohesion more flexible and natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “steady rise,” “declining,” “remained,” “rebound,” and “dipping.” These choices help communicate the main movements, and the meaning remains clear. Some less common expressions are not used naturally or precisely: “reciprocal to each other” is not the usual way to describe two opposing trends, “growth and downfall” is awkward for chart data, and “slackened” does not fit a percentage that stayed at 31%. “Rentals” is also less precise than “rented accommodation” or “rented households.” Aim for accurate, conventional collocations for describing data rather than choosing more elaborate wording; this will improve precision without requiring a much wider vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a contrast clause beginning “While” and a sentence using “before” to sequence changes. Most of the information is understandable, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions remain. For example, “While owned ones rose through out 1918-2011, rented ones got declined” has an incorrect verb construction; use “ownership rose, while renting declined.” In “compared to rentals, which were at nearly 80%,” the reference is not expressed cleanly, and “at the end of period” needs an article (“at the end of the period”). The sentence beginning “This growth and downfall continued” also makes the relationship between the two trends difficult to parse. Check verb forms, articles, and sentence clarity, especially when combining comparisons.

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