Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-24

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 7.5)

The charts illustrate changes in the percentage of households that owned electrical appliances and the amount of time spent on housework in one country between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, ownership of all three appliances increased considerably over the period, while the amount of time spent doing housework decreased dramatically. By 2019, almost every household owned a refrigerator, washing machine ownership was also very high, and vacuum cleaners were universally owned.

In 1920, only around 40% of households had a washing machine, compared with approximately 30% that owned a vacuum cleaner. Refrigerators were almost non-existent at this time. Over the following decades, ownership of refrigerators rose rapidly, reaching about 90% by 1960 and 100% by 1980. Vacuum cleaner ownership also increased steadily, reaching around 70% in 1940 and approximately 90% in 1960, before reaching 100% in 2000. Washing machine ownership grew more gradually, from about 40% in 1920 to around 70% in 1960, and finally reached approximately 75% in 2019.

Meanwhile, the average time spent on housework fell from about 50 hours per week in 1920 to around 15 hours in 2019. The most significant decline occurred between 1920 and 1960, when household appliance ownership increased substantially.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have provided a clear and accurate summary of the main features shown in the charts. You successfully identified the key trends, such as the inverse relationship between appliance ownership and housework time. The data is well-selected, and you have made relevant comparisons between the categories and across the time period. All parts of the prompt are addressed, and the overview is concise and effective. To reach a higher band, ensure that you explicitly highlight the most significant trends or 'stand-out' features in the overview, which you have done well here by noting the dramatic decrease in housework time alongside the rise in appliance ownership.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: the introduction, the overall summary, the appliance trends, and the housework trends. You have used cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'Over the following decades', and 'compared with' effectively to link sentences and ideas. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the information flows smoothly from one point to the next. The structure is clear, and the reader can easily follow the comparison of data points throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe trends and data points accurately. Phrases like 'non-existent', 'rose rapidly', 'increased steadily', and 'significant decline' demonstrate a good command of language appropriate for an academic report. The vocabulary is precise and fits the context well. There are no spelling errors, and the word choice is consistently natural. To improve further, you could incorporate more sophisticated collocations or varied synonyms for 'increased' and 'decreased' to demonstrate even greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

Your grammar is highly accurate, with a variety of complex sentence structures used throughout the response. You demonstrate good control over tense usage, particularly when discussing historical data (e.g., 'had a washing machine', 'rose rapidly'). Punctuation is used correctly, and there are no errors that impede communication. The majority of your sentences are error-free, and you show a good grasp of both simple and complex structures. The writing is clear, fluent, and professional, meeting the requirements for a high band score in this criterion.

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

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