Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-20

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 two line graphs illustrate the proportion of households that owned electrical appliances and the number of hours spent on housework per week in a country between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners were the most widely owned electrical appliances, while the number of hours spent on housework per week decreases considerably over the period.

Initially, washing machines accounted for 40% of households in 1920, where it rose gradually to 70% in 1960, before falling to approximately 62% in 1980. The figure for washing machines increased slightly to 75% of households by 2019. In contrast, refrigerators recorded around 1% of households and the figure witnessed a dramatic increase accounted for 90% of households in 1960 and it made up 100% in 1980 and remained stable until 2019. Similarly, vacuum cleaners accounted for 30% of households in 1968, and this figure climbed to 70% and surpassed the ownership of washing machines in 1960. Moreover, this figure reached 100% of households by 2019.

Furthermore, households spent 50 hours per week on housework in 1920. This figure decreased steadily to around 20 hours in 1960, before falling further to approximately 5 hours in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered all three appliances and the housework hours, making relevant comparisons such as noting when vacuum cleaner ownership surpassed washing machines. However, there is a significant factual error in your description of the vacuum cleaner data: you state it reached 30% in 1968 and 70% in 1960, which is chronologically impossible and contradicts the graph. Additionally, the description of the washing machine trend is slightly confusing regarding the 1960-1980 period. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are accurately transcribed and that the chronological progression of the report is logical and error-free.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that separate the appliances from the housework hours. You use cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Similarly', and 'Furthermore' to link ideas effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related information. However, the flow within the third paragraph is slightly hampered by the chronological inconsistencies mentioned in the task achievement section. The referencing is generally clear, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the trends, using terms like 'proportion', 'witnessed a dramatic increase', 'surpassed', and 'remained stable'. These choices are appropriate for an academic report. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'accounted for 90% of households in 1960 and it made up 100% in 1980', which is slightly repetitive and clunky. While you attempt to use varied reporting verbs, the overall range is adequate rather than sophisticated. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive sentence structures when describing percentages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'before falling to approximately 62% in 1980' and 'while the number of hours spent on housework per week decreases considerably'. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'where it rose gradually' (which should be 'which rose') and the tense inconsistency in 'decreases' (should be 'decreased' to match the past timeframe). Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the punctuation is generally accurate. The majority of your sentences are error-free, which supports a solid band 6.5 or 7.0 performance.

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

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