Back to Writing Hub

User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 9.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

213 words AcademicTask 1Multiple Graphs
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Compare the pace of adoption: refrigerator ownership rose especially quickly between 1940 and 1960, while washing-machine ownership changed more gradually.
  • Identify milestones in appliance ownership: refrigerators reached 100% by 1980, and vacuum cleaners did so by 2000.
  • Set the decline in housework hours alongside rising appliance ownership, while avoiding claims that the charts prove one trend caused the other.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce both charts, the measures shown and the 1920–2019 period.
  2. Give an overview of the broad appliance-ownership increases and the fall in housework hours.
  3. Compare the three appliances, highlighting their starting points and the years they reached universal ownership.
  4. Describe the housework-hour decline chronologically, noting the plateau at 15 hours between 1980 and 2000.
Useful vocabulary & examples
household ownership
the proportion of households that have a particular item

Household ownership of refrigerators rose to 100% by 1980.

reach universal ownership
be owned by all households shown in the chart

Vacuum cleaners reached universal ownership in 2000.

edge down
decrease slightly

Washing-machine ownership edged down between 1960 and 1980.

remain at that level
stay unchanged at a previously stated figure

Housework time remained at 15 hours per week from 1980 to 2000.

Task Prompt

The charts below show the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time doing housework and households in one country between 1920 and 2019. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 9.0

The provided line charts illustrate changes in ownership of electrical appliances and time spent on household chores in households of a particular country from 1920 to 2019. Overall, a significant increase in the adoption of electrical appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, and vacuum cleaners can be observed, while there was a notable decline in the amount of time spent on housework. Refrigerator ownership rose most sharply, reaching 100% by 1980, while vacuum cleaner ownership also increased steadily to reach the same level by 2000. Washing machines became more common overall, although their ownership fell slightly between 1960 and 1980. In 1920, around 40% of households owned a washing machine, compared with 30% that had a vacuum cleaner and virtually none with a refrigerator. By 1940, washing machines were the most widespread appliance, at approximately 60%. However, refrigerators then rose rapidly, from about 55% in 1940 to 90% in 1960 and full ownership by 1980. Washing-machine ownership reached 70% in 1960, dipped to around 65% in 1980, and then climbed to 75% in 2019. Over the same period, weekly housework time fell from 50 hours per household in 1920 to 20 hours in 1960. It then declined more gradually, reaching about 15 hours in 1980 and 2000, before finishing at 10 hours in 2019.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Use the chart's measure consistently: describe appliance ownership as a percentage of households, rather than using broader terms such as “adoption.”
2
Make the overview identify both the shared rise in appliance ownership and the fall in housework hours, then reserve exact figures for the detail paragraphs.
3
Check comparisons at the turning points: highlight the washing-machine dip from 70% in 1960 to about 65% in 1980, and the plateau in housework hours at roughly 15 between 1980 and 2000.

Related examples for this topic

Compare different bands on the same IELTS prompt.

Browse all