The graph below shows the daily water consumption for Americans in their homes.
Sample Response
The illustration presents data on the daily water use in an American homewater usage by an American for different purposes. The water consumption is measured in gallonsgallon per day and is compared according to whetheris compared considering whether the conservation method is used or not. It is obvious that water conservation saves a great deal of water and the highest water Americans consume for flushing toilets, washing clothes and taking showers. According to the bar chart, anAn American consumes 19 gallons of water for flushing toilets and this amountoutgo is reduced to about half that amountto half of that with conservation measuresif the water is conserved. An American usesuse 15 gallons of water15 gallons water to washclean clothes using a washing machine and this is reduced by 4 gallons through conservation measuresthe conservation techniques. Interestingly, the same amount of water is used through faucetsneeded for using faucets regardless of the conservation method and this quantity is 11 gallons. Leaks waste 10 gallons of water10 gallons water a day and the least water was usedthe least water use could be observed for washing dishes in dishwashers. Moreover, an American consumesconsume 13 gallons of water to take a shower and this is even higher than the water required for using faucets. It is interesting to notice that an American can save about 21 gallonssave around 20 gallons of water when conservation measures are usedif the conservation method is in place.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response accurately reports the main values, identifies the highest and lowest household uses, and correctly concludes that conservation saves about 20 gallons in total. Its main weakness is frequent grammatical inaccuracy, especially subject-verb agreement and missing quantity structures, together with some awkward word choices such as 'outgo'. Prioritise consistent agreement and concise comparisons between conserved and unconserved use for each activity.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and accurate figures cover the key household uses, unchanged categories, and overall saving from conservation.
Complete the comparison by stating that shower use falls from 13 to 10 gallons and leaks from 10 to 5 gallons.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response moves logically from the overview through individual uses to the total saving, but it remains a single paragraph.
Group the largest savings in one detail paragraph and unchanged or low-use categories in another.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate and sometimes varied, though a few choices are awkward and 'an American' is repeated excessively.
Use 'daily household use', 'consumption falls', 'water saving', and plural references to 'Americans' or 'households'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is consistently clear, but agreement, articles, countable units, and noun phrases contain frequent errors.
Correct forms such as 'an American uses', '15 gallons of water', and 'the greatest amount is used for flushing toilets'.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph below shows the daily water consumption for Americans in their homes.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.