Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-05

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 two charts compares changes in percentage of households with electric appliances and number of hours spent doing housework per week over a 99-years period between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, the proportion of households owning electric appliances have seen a major surge meanwhile, there's a noticeable decrease in hours spent doing household chores over the years.

People started buying refrigerators in 1920 and from there on it witnessed a remarkable upward trend and around 1960, 90% of homes had refrigerators and it rose to 100% in 1980 and then maintained a steady curve till 2019. On the other hand, 30% of the households already had vacuum cleaners in 1920, with this percentage rising steadily to 90% around 1980. And by 2000, 100% of houses owned a vacuum cleaner and it stayed at this percentage until 2019.

Washing machines were the most owned electric appliance in 1920 at a whopping 40% but after a slight rise in percentage to 70% by 1960, and by 2019 around 74% of houses had washing machines, the lowest among all three electric items. Alternatively, in 1920, 50 hours per week were spent on housework but it was decreased over the years reaching 20 hours in 1960. And by 2019, only 10 hours are spent doing household chores.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You cover both charts and provide a clear overview: appliance ownership generally rose, while time spent on housework fell. The main trends and several key comparisons are accurately selected, including refrigerators reaching 100% by 1980 and vacuum cleaners doing so by 2000. Most reported figures are close to the chart. However, “People started buying refrigerators in 1920” is misleading: ownership was only about 2% then, rather than beginning at a meaningful level. The washing-machine account omits the dip from 70% in 1960 to 65% in 1980 before recovery. You also leave out the plateau in housework at 15 hours from 1980 to 2000. Including these details would make the account more fully supported and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the appliance trends and housework. Information is generally easy to follow, and contrasts such as “On the other hand” help distinguish the appliance series. This meets the lower-band expectation of a coherent overall arrangement and shows some effective progression. However, the final paragraph combines washing-machine ownership with housework, making the shift between topics abrupt. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated “And by…” constructions, while “meanwhile” does not clearly connect the two overview trends. Use separate paragraphs for the two charts and vary transitions to make relationships between points more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “upward trend,” “rising steadily,” “maintained,” and “decrease.” These choices make the main comparisons understandable, and some variation avoids excessive repetition of basic terms. At times, however, word choice or collocation is imprecise or too informal for an academic report. “A whopping 40%” is conversational, and “electric items” is less precise than a term such as “appliances.” “Steady curve” is also an awkward description of a stable percentage. Aim for consistently neutral, accurate trend language and avoid expressions that sound evaluative rather than descriptive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while” and “after,” and the overall meaning remains clear. Some sentences are controlled, such as the description of refrigerators reaching 100% and remaining there. However, several grammatical errors recur. The opening says “The two charts compares,” where the plural subject requires “compare”; “the proportion … have seen” also has subject–verb disagreement. In “after a slight rise … to 70% by 1960, and by 2019,” the sentence structure is incomplete or awkwardly joined. Tense shifts in “only 10 hours are spent” also weaken consistency in a report about historical data. Check agreement, sentence boundaries, and consistent past-tense reporting.

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