Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-15

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country between 1920 and 2019.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Percentage of households with electrical appliances (1920-2019)

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The line graphs illustrate the trends in the proportion of households owning electrical appliances and the amount of time spent doing household chores in a country from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, the percentage of households owning electrical appliances increased significantly while, the number of hours spent on housework per week gradually declined throughout the period.

The proportion of households owning a washing machine was the highest in 1920, at around 40%. This figure gradually rose to approximately 70% in 1960, before declining over the following decade and then peaking at around 75% in 2019. In contrast, the percentage of households owning a vacuum cleaner gradually increased from almost half of the households in 1940 to almost 100% in 2019, meaning that every household owned a vacuum cleaner.

In 1920, no households had a refrigerator. The figure eventually increased to around 55% in 1940, followed by a massive jump to over 90% in 1980, reaching 100% by 2019 and making it an essential appliance in every household. While the number of hours spent on housework per week in a household gradually dropped just under 50 hours to almost 10 hours per week.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key features of the charts, including the trends for appliances and the inverse relationship with housework hours. The overview is clear and highlights the main trends effectively. However, the data reporting for the washing machine is slightly inaccurate; the text states it was 40% in 1920, but the graph shows it starting at 0%. Additionally, the final sentence regarding housework hours is a sentence fragment ('While the number of hours... dropped...'), which slightly detracts from the clarity of the data presentation. Overall, the main features are selected well, but greater precision in data extraction is needed for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'while', and 'eventually' are used to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is appropriate, and there is a clear progression of ideas. However, the connection between the final sentence and the preceding paragraph is slightly disjointed due to the grammatical error mentioned. The use of referencing is generally clear, and the overall structure supports the reader's understanding of the trends described.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task, with some effective use of reporting verbs and descriptive phrases such as 'increased significantly', 'gradually declined', and 'massive jump'. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, though some phrasing is slightly repetitive. The word choice is generally accurate and appropriate for an academic report. To improve, the student should aim for more varied ways to describe trends and avoid repeating 'gradually' multiple times throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are error-free, there are some noticeable issues. The final sentence is a fragment, lacking a main verb to complete the thought. There is also a minor punctuation error in the second paragraph ('while, the number'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the report. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on ensuring all sentences are complete and refining the use of commas in complex sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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