Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-11

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)

cambridge writing task 1

Student answer (Band 6.5)

The line graphs illustrate the proportion of households with three types of electrical appliances and the amount of time spent by a household for housework in one nation from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, the refrigerator and the vacuum cleaner were the top electrical appliances in the household and they increased considerably over the period and the hours spent on housework decreased gradually and maintained its stability throughout the period.

The refrigerator was the least popular electrical appliance in 1920, at 2% approximately, until it reached its peak at 100% in 1980, from there it maintained its peak of 100% until 2019. Similarly, the vacuum cleaner was at its lowest point with 30% in 1920, but in 2000 it reached its highest point of 100% in 2000 and continued to maintain the same balanced stability until end of the period.

However, the washing machine was the most popular among the households in 1920 with around 40% share, by 1960 it accounted for 70% roughly, with slight fluctuation it reached the highest proportion of 75% approximately in 2019. The total amount of time spent on housework per week was at 50 hours roughly in 1920, where it gradually fell to its lowest of about 11 hours in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response effectively covers all parts of the task by identifying the main trends for both the appliances and the housework hours. You have successfully selected key features, such as the peak of the refrigerator and the decline in housework time. However, the analysis could be improved by making more direct comparisons between the categories. For instance, noting that the rise in appliance ownership correlates with the decline in housework time would provide a more insightful summary. The data points are generally accurate, though the description of the washing machine's trend could be more precise regarding the specific years mentioned in the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Each paragraph focuses on a specific theme, which helps the reader follow the progression of information. You use cohesive devices such as 'Similarly', 'However', and 'by 1960' to link ideas. While the structure is sound, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. To reach a higher band, ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid. For example, the transition between the refrigerator and the vacuum cleaner is clear, but the connection between the appliance trends and the housework hours could be more explicitly stated to improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'proportion of households', 'maintained its stability', and 'accounted for' are used appropriately. There are some minor issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'maintained its peak of 100%' or 'balanced stability', which sound slightly unnatural. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but expanding your range of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would help avoid repetition and demonstrate a higher level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are some grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'the amount of time spent by a household for housework' (should be 'on housework') and 'until end of the period' (missing an article). Additionally, some sentences are slightly run-on, such as the second sentence in the second paragraph. Despite these errors, the meaning is never obscured, and the grammar is generally functional. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring consistent use of articles and prepositions will help improve your score in this criterion.

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