Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-26

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 7.0)

The charts show the percentage of households that owned electrical appliances and the number of hours spent on housework per week in one country from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, the ownership of all three appliances increased during the period, while the time spent doing housework decreased. Refrigerators and vacuum cleaners became the most common appliances by the end of the period.

In 1920, about 40% of households had a washing machine, while 30% had a vacuum cleaner. Only around 2% of households owned a refrigerator. By 1940, the figures had increased to about 60% for washing machines, 50% for vacuum cleaners and 55% for refrigerators.

In 1960, refrigerator ownership rose sharply to 90%, while both washing machines and vacuum cleaners were at around 70%. The percentage of households with refrigerators reached 100% in 1980. Vacuum cleaner ownership also increased to 90% in 1980 and reached 100% in 2000. Washing machine ownership changed slightly, falling from 70% in 1960 to 65% in 1980, before rising to about 75% in 2019.

The second chart shows that housework became less time-consuming. In 1920, households spent about 50 hours per week on housework. This fell to 35 hours in 1940 and 20 hours in 1960. It then decreased gradually to around 15 hours in 1980 and 2000, and finally to only 10 hours in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered all three appliances and the housework time, making relevant comparisons throughout. The data is accurately reported, and the inclusion of specific figures (e.g., '40% of households', '50 hours per week') effectively supports your summary. To reach a higher band, ensure you consistently highlight the most significant relationships between the two charts, such as the inverse correlation between the rise in appliance ownership and the decline in housework hours, which you touched upon but could have emphasized more explicitly as a key feature.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving from an overview to specific details about appliances and then to the housework data. Cohesive devices such as 'In 1920', 'By 1940', and 'The second chart shows that' are used effectively to guide the reader. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the information flows smoothly. There is no evidence of mechanical or repetitive linking, and the structure supports the overall clarity of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a data-driven task. Phrases like 'rose sharply', 'decreased gradually', and 'became less time-consuming' are used accurately. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the information with precision. To improve, you could incorporate more sophisticated collocations or varied synonyms for 'increased' and 'decreased' to avoid slight repetition. For instance, using 'surged' or 'plummeted' would add more variety and demonstrate a higher level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

Your grammar is generally strong, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. The use of past tenses is consistent and accurate throughout the report. Punctuation is used correctly, and there are no significant errors that impede communication. Most of your sentences are error-free, which is a hallmark of a high-scoring response. To reach the highest band, you could experiment with more complex sentence structures, such as using participle clauses to combine information more fluidly, for example: 'With refrigerator ownership rising to 90% by 1960, the time spent on housework continued its downward trend.'

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

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