Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-30

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 line chart depicts the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and the amount of time spent doing housework in one country from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, it is clear that the usage of electrical appliances increased dramatically over time; in contrast, the number of hours per week spent on housework declined significantly.

In 1920, the sharpest rise was recorded in refrigerators, which grew from 0% to 100% over the period. However, the usage of washing machines was 40% initially, as compared to vacuum cleaners which were 30%. Additionally, the usage of vacuum cleaners soared to 100% in 2019. In contrast, the utilization of washing machines stood at just over 70% from 1920 to 2019.

The significant decline was recorded in number of hours per week. Initially, the 50 hours per week in housework were documented in 1920 which plummeted to 20 hours per week in 1960. Meanwhile, the graph fluctuated and it comes to end in 2019 with almost 10 hours per week due to increased electrical appliances usage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both charts and making relevant comparisons. An appropriate overall trend is identified in the second paragraph. Key data points are successfully highlighted, such as refrigerators and vacuum cleaners reaching 100% by 2019, and the drop in housework hours from 50 to 11. However, there are a few minor factual inaccuracies in the details: refrigerators started at 2% in 1920 rather than 0%, and the washing machine ownership did not 'stand at just over 70% from 1920 to 2019' as it started at 40% in 1920 and rose to 75% in 2019. Despite these slight misinterpretations of the fine-grained data, the response successfully fulfills the requirements of Task 1 by providing a clear overview and highlighting key trends and comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is arranged logically into four distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on the two charts respectively. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall, it is clear that', 'In contrast', 'However', and 'Meanwhile'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the appliances data from the housework hours data. Although referencing is mostly clear, the progression within the third paragraph feels slightly disjointed due to abrupt shifts between different appliances (e.g., jumping from refrigerators to washing machines and back to vacuum cleaners). Overall coherence is well maintained.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, employing terms like 'depicts', 'dramatically', 'declined significantly', and 'utilization'. There are occasional awkward phrasing choices or minor inaccuracies, such as saying refrigerators 'grew from 0% to 100% over the period' and stating that the usage of washing machines 'stood at just over 70% from 1920 to 2019' which contradicts the starting figure of 40%. Additionally, the phrase 'increased electrical appliances usage' could be polished to 'increased usage of electrical appliances'. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'as', 'while', and 'where'. Control over grammar is generally good, with frequent error-free sentences. Minor errors occur, such as the omission of an article in 'The significant decline was recorded in number of hours per week' (should be 'the number') and a slight awkwardness in 'it comes to end in 2019'. Punctuation is accurate, and the grammatical errors present are non-systematic and do not impede communication, supporting a solid band 6.5 performance.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.