Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-08

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 6.5)

The provided line graphs illustrate the number of households using electrical appliances and the proportion of time spent doing house chores in a country from 1920 to 2019. Overall, the amount of time decreased in doing housework with the increase in usage of electrical appliances over a period of one century.

The proportion of households using vacuum cleaners and refrigerators was just under one-third and practically zero in 1920 respectively. Over the period, both experienced a considerable rise and achieved their peak of 100% in the year 1980 and 2000 respectively and then plateaued.

The number of washing machine users was two-fifths in 1920, and it experienced a steady increase and attained its peak at 70% in 1960. Afterwards, there was a gradual decline in 1980 before reaching its highest point again in 2019.

Similarly, the number of hours of housework per week underwent a drastic decline from a half to around one-fifth in 1920 to 1960. Furthermore, there was a marginal decrease and reached its lowest of 10 per week in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response effectively covers all parts of the task by identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons between appliance ownership and housework time. You successfully highlighted the inverse relationship between the two variables. The overview is clear and captures the essence of the data. However, the description of the data could be more precise; for instance, stating 'two-fifths' for washing machines in 1920 is slightly inaccurate based on the visual data, and the mention of 'a half to around one-fifth' for housework hours is a bit vague. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are extracted with greater accuracy and that the comparison between the two charts is more explicitly linked throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a summary. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from appliance ownership to the impact on housework time. You use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Similarly', and 'Furthermore' to link sentences and paragraphs effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different categories of information. The flow is generally natural, though some transitions could be more varied to avoid a slightly mechanical feel. Overall, the structure supports the reader's understanding of the information presented in the charts.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'considerable rise', 'attained its peak', and 'gradual decline' are well-chosen and appropriate for a report of this nature. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is generally successful. However, there are minor issues with word choice, such as 'number of households' when referring to percentages, and 'number of hours' which could be more precisely described as 'time spent'. While these errors do not impede communication, more precise terminology would elevate the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are error-free, and the grammar is generally accurate. You successfully use passive voice and time-related prepositions correctly. There are a few minor slips, such as 'the amount of time decreased in doing housework' which is slightly awkward; a more natural phrasing would be 'the time spent on housework decreased'. Punctuation is generally sound. To achieve a higher band, you could incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures, such as relative clauses or more sophisticated conditional or contrastive structures, while maintaining this level of accuracy.

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

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