Key features to report

• Ownership of all three appliances is higher in 2019 than in 1920, while weekly housework falls throughout, so the two graphs show opposite trends that should be linked.
• Refrigerators show the most dramatic change: from almost no households (about 2-3%) in 1920 to about 55% in 1940, 90% in 1960 and 100% from 1980 onwards.
• Vacuum cleaners rise steadily from 30% in 1920 to 50% in 1940, 70% in 1960 and 90% in 1980, reaching 100% in 2000 and staying there in 2019.
• Washing machines start as the most common appliance at 40% in 1920 and reach 60% in 1940 and 70% in 1960, but then dip to about 65% in 1980 before rising only to 70% in 2000 and 75% in 2019, so from 1980 they are the least widespread.
• Housework falls sharply from 50 hours a week in 1920 to 35 hours in 1940 and 20 hours in 1960, then levels off at about 15 hours in 1980 and 2000 and edges down to just over 10 hours in 2019.
• The biggest changes in both graphs happen between 1920 and 1960; after 1960 the lines become much flatter.

Model overview

Overall, the proportion of households owning each appliance increased over the century, with refrigerators and vacuum cleaners eventually found in every home, whereas washing machines grew more slowly and became the least common from 1980. Meanwhile, the time spent on housework fell considerably, with most of the decline occurring before 1960.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the task in one sentence: the graphs show what percentage of households in one country owned a washing machine, a refrigerator and a vacuum cleaner, and how many hours of housework each household did per week, between 1920 and 2019.

2. 2

   Overview

   State the two big pictures without figures: appliance ownership rose, with fridges and vacuum cleaners reaching every household and washing machines lagging behind, while housework time fell, mostly in the first forty years.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 1: appliance ownership

   Describe the refrigerator's surge from almost zero in 1920 to 90% in 1960 and 100% in 1980, the steady rise of vacuum cleaners from 30% to 100% by 2000, and the washing machine's rise from 40% to 70% in 1960, slight dip to about 65% in 1980 and modest recovery to 75% in 2019.

4. 4

   Body paragraph 2: hours of housework

   Report the fall from 50 hours a week in 1920 to 20 hours in 1960, the plateau at about 15 hours in 1980 and 2000, and the final figure of just over 10 hours in 2019. You may note that the steepest fall coincides with the fastest spread of appliances, but do not claim one caused the other.

Useful comparisons

• Contrast the rising lines in the first graph with the falling line in the second graph.
• Group refrigerators and vacuum cleaners together as the two appliances that reach 100% ownership, then treat washing machines separately.
• Highlight the reversal in rankings: washing machines are the most common appliance in 1920 and 1940 but the least common from 1980 onwards.
• Note the convergence point in 1960, when washing machines and vacuum cleaners both stand at 70%.
• Divide the housework data into two periods: a rapid fall from 1920 to 1960 and a much slower decline afterwards.
• Compare the size of change: refrigerator ownership rises by almost 100 percentage points, while washing machine ownership rises by only 35.

Band 8+ model answer

202 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Achievement

The answer covers both graphs, gives a clear overview of rising ownership and falling housework time, and supports the key features with accurate figures, including the washing machine dip and the housework plateau.

Coherence and Cohesion

One body paragraph is devoted to each graph, appliances are grouped by their pattern of change, and linking words such as meanwhile, by contrast and then move the reader smoothly through the data.

Lexical Resource

Precise trend vocabulary such as soared, levelling off, slight dip and almost unheard of is used naturally, and the topic is paraphrased with homes, domestic chores and the time devoted to housework.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The answer uses past tenses accurately, combines clauses with participle phrases and relative structures, and handles comparisons such as the least common and much more slowly without errors.

Useful vocabulary

household appliances

electrical machines used in the home, such as fridges and washing machines

ownership

the fact of having something; used here for the share of homes that have each appliance

the proportion of households

the share of all homes, a paraphrase of percentage of households

domestic chores

routine housework such as cleaning, cooking and washing clothes

soar

rise very quickly to a high level

universal

found in every household, i.e. at 100%

level off

stop rising or falling and stay about the same

plateau

a period when a figure stays stable after changing

dip slightly

fall a little for a short time

modest recovery

a small rise after a fall

percentage points

the difference between two percentages, e.g. from 40% to 75% is 35 points

the time devoted to

the time spent on a particular activity

lag behind

develop more slowly than others

Common mistakes

• Describing only one of the two graphs, or writing about them in separate halves with no overview that connects rising ownership and falling housework time.
• Claiming that the appliances caused the fall in housework as a fact; Task 1 asks you to report data, not to explain causes.
• Misreading the washing machine line, for example saying it rose continuously, when it actually dips to about 65% in 1980.
• Saying refrigerators started at 0% or at 10%; the 1920 value is just above zero.
• Writing the housework graph in percentages instead of hours per week.
• Listing every value year by year instead of selecting the main trends and comparisons.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This question about household appliances and hours of housework is Writing Task 1 of Test 1 in Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic, published in 2021.

Should I describe both graphs in the same paragraph?

It is usually clearer to give each graph its own body paragraph and to link them in the overview, where you can point out that ownership rose while housework time fell.

Can I say that appliances reduced the time spent on housework?

You can note that the two trends happened at the same time, but avoid stating a cause as fact, because Task 1 only asks you to report what the graphs show.

How many words should I write?

Write at least 150 words; about 170-200 words is enough to cover both graphs, an overview and the key figures in 20 minutes.