The pie charts below show the percentage of housing owned and rented in the UK in 1991 and 2007.
Sample Response
The pie charts compare home ownership and renting for 1991 and 2007 in percentage terms. In 1991, home owner were the most popular type of housing, accounting for 60%, or more than over half of all homes. The next largest sector was social rented homes, amounting to 23% or nearly one-third of homes. The remaining homes were mostly privately rented (11%) with a tiny fraction being social housi ng (6%).
Sixteen years later, in 2007, the number of home owners had risen to 70%, or almost three quarters of all homes. This was an increase of 10% compared with 1991. Much of the increase in home ownership can be explained by the decrease in social rented homes, which had dropped from 23% to 17%.
The percentage of privately rented homes had remained unchanged at 11%. However, there were 5 million more homes in 2007 compared with 1991 so the number of rented homes had increased despite the same percentage. Social housing has decreased three-fold from 6% in 1991 to 2% in 2007, and it remains the least popular type of housing.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix noun agreement Original: home owner were Suggested revision: homeowners were Why it matters: Use the plural noun to agree with the plural verb and describe the group correctly.
- 2. Remove double comparison Original: more than over half Suggested revision: more than half Why it matters: Using both 'more than' and 'over' creates a redundant double comparison.
- 3. Correct the proportion Original: 23% or nearly one-third of homes Suggested revision: 23%, or just under one-quarter of homes Why it matters: The chart shows 23%, which is much closer to one-quarter than one-third.
- 4. Fix adjective form Original: was social rented homes Suggested revision: was socially rented housing Why it matters: Use the adverb 'socially' to modify 'rented' and an uncountable category noun after 'sector'.
- 5. Describe percentages precisely Original: the number of home owners Suggested revision: the proportion of homeowners Why it matters: The chart gives a percentage here, so 'proportion' is more accurate than 'number'.
- 6. Use percentage points Original: an increase of 10% Suggested revision: an increase of 10 percentage points Why it matters: A rise from 60% to 70% is a ten-percentage-point increase.
- 7. Avoid unsupported causation Original: explained Suggested revision: accompanied Why it matters: The charts show simultaneous changes but do not establish that one caused the other.
- 8. Specify rental category Original: the number of rented homes Suggested revision: the number of privately rented homes Why it matters: The preceding 11% refers specifically to private renting, so the noun phrase should retain that category.
- 9. Describe chart size Original: most popular type of housing Suggested revision: largest housing category Why it matters: The chart shows category shares rather than residents' preferences.
- 10. Name the rank directly Original: The next largest sector Suggested revision: The second-largest category Why it matters: This wording identifies the category's position more directly and matches the chart structure.
- 11. Use formal category wording Original: with a tiny fraction being social housi ng Suggested revision: while a smaller share was social housing Why it matters: The revision uses neutral comparative language and restores the category name clearly.
- 12. Fix modifier form Original: decrease in social rented homes Suggested revision: fall in socially rented housing Why it matters: Use 'socially' to modify 'rented' and describe the tenure category naturally.
Suggested Rewrites
- home owner were homeowners were
- more than over half more than half
- 23% or nearly one-third of homes 23%, or just under one-quarter of homes
- was social rented homes was socially rented housing
- the number of home owners the proportion of homeowners
- an increase of 10% an increase of 10 percentage points
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response gives a generally accurate, well-organised account of all four tenure categories and uses the totals to add a useful comparison. Its main weakness is that the overview is distributed across the details rather than stated clearly, while a few claims are imprecise, especially ‘nearly one-third’ for 23% and the causal explanation of ownership growth. Prioritise a concise overview that highlights the dominant category and principal changes without unsupported interpretation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All categories and most figures are accurately covered, but the overview is implicit and a few comparisons or interpretations are imprecise.
Add a distinct overview stating that ownership was dominant and rose while both social categories fell and private renting remained stable.
Coherence and Cohesion
The report progresses logically by period and links related figures effectively, although the key trends are not consolidated in an overview.
Place the main cross-period trends together in a short overview before presenting the detailed figures.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with effective terms such as ‘accounting for’ and ‘remained unchanged’, despite occasional awkward wording.
Use more exact expressions such as ‘just under a quarter’ and avoid redundant phrasing such as ‘more than over half’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A useful range of complex structures is mostly controlled, but agreement, tense, and noun-form errors occur in several places.
Proofread subject–verb agreement and consistent past-tense reporting, especially forms such as ‘home owners were’ and ‘social housing decreased’.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie charts below show the percentage of housing owned and rented in the UK in 1991 and 2007.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.