Academic Writing Task 1 · line graph

Trends in household appliance ownership and weekly housework hours 1920-2019

The charts below show the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and the 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. Write at least 150 words.

Percentage of households with electrical appliances (1920-2019) (%)

Washing machine
Refrigerator
Vacuum cleaner

View the data

	1920	1940	1960	1980	2000	2019
Washing machine	40	60	70	65	70	75
Refrigerator	5	55	90	100	100	100
Vacuum cleaner	30	50	70	90	100	100

Number of hours of housework per week, per household (1920 - 2019) (hours per week)

View the data

	1920	1940	1960	1980	2000	2019
Hours per week	50	35	20	15	15	10

Chart redrawn by BandLadder from the data in the original IELTS practice task. Many IELTS practice tasks come from the Cambridge IELTS series (Cambridge University Press & Assessment); all rights in the original tasks remain with their owners.

Band 8 sample answer

The provided charts illustrate the ownership rates of three electrical appliances and the corresponding weekly hours dedicated to housework in a single country between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, there is a clear inverse relationship between the rise in appliance ownership and the reduction in domestic labour. While the ownership of all three appliances grew significantly over the century, the time spent on housework experienced a consistent and substantial decline.

In 1920, only 5% of households owned a refrigerator, while washing machines and vacuum cleaners were present in 40% and 30% of homes respectively. By 1980, refrigerator ownership had reached 100%, and vacuum cleaners followed suit by 2000. Washing machines saw the slowest growth, starting at 40% in 1920 and reaching 75% by 2019, despite a brief dip between 1960 and 1980.

Conversely, the time spent on housework plummeted from 50 hours per week in 1920 to just 10 hours by 2019. The most rapid reduction occurred between 1920 and 1960, when hours dropped from 50 to 20. Following this, the decline slowed, plateauing at 15 hours between 1980 and 2000, before reaching the final figure of 10 hours in 2019.

190 words. Every figure in the answer comes from the chart above.

How to write about line graphs

Overview first: the overall direction of each line and which was highest.
Group lines that move together instead of describing each one in turn.
Give the start and end figures plus the peak or low point, not every value.

inverse relationship: two things changing in opposite directions to each other
plummeted: decreased very rapidly and by a large amount
plateauing: reaching a state of little or no change
corresponding: related to or connected with the other thing
substantial: of considerable importance, size, or worth
followed suit: did the same thing as someone else previously

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Frequently asked questions

What should the overview say?

While the ownership of all three electrical appliances increased significantly over the century, the time spent on housework experienced a consistent and substantial decline.

How long should an IELTS Task 1 answer be?

At least 150 words; 170 to 200 is the safe range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

How do I describe line graphs?

Overview first: the overall direction of each line and which was highest. Group lines that move together instead of describing each one in turn. Give the start and end figures plus the peak or low point, not every value.