The chart below shows information about changes in average house prices in five different cities between 1990 and 2002 compared with the average house prices in 1989.
Sample Response
The bar graphs compare the proportion of moderate house prices between the USA, Japan, Spain, Germany, and the UK from 1990 to 2002. The changes are shown relative toAlso, the data was compared with the 1989 average home prices.
Overall, it can be seen that the highest prices of houses had in London in the second half of the period and in the first half had of Frankfurt also, while Tokyo’s housing rate decreased continuously throughout the period.
To begin with, house prices in New Yorkthe price of New York houses declined in the first periodspan, and it increased in the second periodspan compared with 1989. Whereas Tokyo had the nation whose rate of homes decreased continuously between 1990 and 2002, it had a negative percentage as compared to 1989.
Turning toShifting towards the rest of the data, compared with London's 1989 averageif compared to the data of 1989 of London, it was the citycountry in which house prices rose from about 8% below the 1989 average in 1990–1995 to about 12% above it in 1996–2002rose dramatically from the first half of the period to the second half of the period. The two remaining citiesThe other two nations, Spain and Germany, both hadboth two countries had moderate changes in house pricesa moderate level of prices of the house from 1990 to 1995, whilst house prices in Madrid roseSpain rose their house prices, and the change in Frankfurt fell from about 3% to 1%Frankfurt dwindled between 1996 and 2002.
Why this response received Band 5.0
The response identifies several important broad movements, including London’s sharp rise and Tokyo’s negative results, and its paragraphing provides a recognisable structure. Accuracy and precision are limited because cities are repeatedly treated as countries, the chart is misdescribed, almost no figures are reported, and frequent grammatical and collocational errors strain meaning. Prioritise exact percentage comparisons for both periods, expressed in clear sentences using city names and correct change language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
Several main directions are identified, but the chart is inaccurately framed, data support is largely absent, and some claims overstate what two period averages show.
Report representative percentages for both periods and describe changes relative to 1989 without calling the cities countries or claiming continuous movement.
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraphing separates the introduction, overview, and details, but awkward referencing and loosely connected clauses weaken progression within paragraphs.
Group the five cities by positive and negative change, then use direct comparisons instead of vague transitions and pronoun references.
Lexical Resource
There is some attempt at varied trend vocabulary, but frequent inappropriate collocations such as ‘rate of homes’ and ‘prices of the house’ reduce precision.
Use accurate chart language consistently, including ‘percentage change in average house prices’, ‘rose’, ‘fell’, and ‘remained below the 1989 level’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are attempted, but frequent errors in clause structure, agreement, articles, and word order repeatedly strain readability.
Build shorter subject–verb–comparison sentences first, then check each clause for a clear subject, correct agreement, and natural word order.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The chart below shows information about changes in average house prices in five different cities between 1990 and 2002 compared with the average house prices in 1989.
Your response
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