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 the 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 figure fluctuated and it came 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 successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features from both charts and making appropriate comparisons. The overview accurately captures the general trend of increasing appliance ownership alongside a significant decline in housework hours. Key data points are generally well-reported, such as refrigerators growing significantly and housework hours dropping from 50 to around 11 hours per week. However, there is a minor factual inaccuracy in stating that refrigerators grew from '0% to 100%' when the starting point in 1920 was actually 2%, and the claim that washing machine usage 'stood at just over 70% from 1920 to 2019' overlooks its starting point of 40% in 1920. Despite these minor data-reading slips, the response effectively addresses the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is structured into four distinct paragraphs, presenting a clear overall progression. An introductory paragraph is followed by a clear overview, and the body paragraphs logically separate the appliance data from the housework hours. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'in contrast', and 'Meanwhile' are used to connect ideas, though referencing is occasionally slightly mechanical or imprecise, such as 'the figure came to end in 2019'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different elements of the visual data.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task. Phrases like 'increased dramatically', 'plummeted', and 'utilization' show an attempt to use less common items. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'came to end in 2019' instead of 'ended at' or 'stood at', and 'increased electrical appliances usage' instead of 'increased usage of electrical appliances'. Spelling is accurate throughout, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses and comparative structures. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present, such as 'the usage of washing machines was 40% initially, as compared to vacuum cleaners which were 30%' and 'the 50 hours per week in housework were documented in 1920 which plummeted'. Article misuse and awkward prepositional choices also occur, but despite these errors, the meaning remains clear and communication is not impeded.

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