Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-25

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 line graphs illustrate the consumptions of electrical appliances and amount of hours spent doing chores in households in one country from 1920 to 2019. Units are measured in percentage and hours.

Overall, it is clear that both refrigerator and vacuum cleaner had the highest figure, while washing machine recorded the lowest. The figure of housework decreased sharply over the time.

Looking first at refrigerator, the figure stood at the bottom in 1920. It then increased rapidly with the percentage around 55 in 1940. After that the figure reached a peak of 100 percent in 1980, and then remained stable during the final year. In intial year, the consumption of vacuum cleaner was 30%. In 1940, the figure rose to 50%, and then climbed steadily upto 2000. By the end of the period

it usage reached to 100% and then remained unchanged. Washing machine had the highest consumption in starting years, after that the figure fluctuate between 1960 to 2000 and then reached a high of around 75%.

Turning to number of hours, in inital years they spent 50 hours per week, after that it decreased to around 35 hours, and then fell significantly over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main trends and making comparisons between the three electrical appliances and the amount of housework time. The overview is somewhat flawed, as the statement that 'both refrigerator and vacuum cleaner had the highest figure, while washing machine recorded the lowest' is factually inaccurate for parts of the period (e.g., washing machine was actually highest in 1920 at 40%). Furthermore, the details contain some misreadings of the data; for instance, the student states that the washing machine had the highest consumption in the starting years and fluctuated between 1960 and 2000, whereas the graph shows it rose to 70% in 1960, dropped to 65% in 1980, and rose back to 70% in 2000. Despite these inaccuracies, the overall trends are generally reported, placing this at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, body paragraphs for the appliances, and a final paragraph for the hours spent on housework. There is an attempt at logical progression, though paragraphing within the body is slightly cramped and repetitive in structure (e.g., 'Looking first at refrigerator...', 'Turning to number of hours...'). Cohesive devices are used, but some transitions are mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'In intial year' and 'after that'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the essay, but referencing and logical flow could be smoother. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating terms such as 'consumptions', 'electrical appliances', 'percentage', and 'peak'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'the consumptions of electrical appliances' (ownership or usage is more appropriate) and 'In intial year' (spelling error). Phrases like 'the figure stood at the bottom' and 'its usage reached to 100%' demonstrate limited control of collocation. Although less common vocabulary is attempted, errors in spelling and word choice occur throughout, though they do not impede overall communication. This performance fits Band 5.5 to 6.0; a Band 6.0 is awarded as the vocabulary is adequate to convey the basic message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The line graphs illustrate...' and 'It then increased rapidly with the percentage around 55 in 1940.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('in intial year', 'By the end of the period it usage...'), preposition errors ('reached to 100%'), tense inconsistencies ('fluctuate' instead of 'fluctuated'), and spelling mistakes ('intial'). Complex structures tend to be prone to errors. Because these errors do not severely impede communication and a mix of structures is attempted, the writing meets the criteria for Band 5.5.

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

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