The table below shows the changes in some household types in Canada from 1984 to 2020.
Sample Response
The table shows the changes in household types in Canada at 10-year intervals from 1984 to 2014 and again in 2020. There has been a steady increase in households without children during this period. One-person households doubled from 6% in 1984 to 12% in 2020, whilst the percentage of couples with no children rose from 19% in 1984 to 23% in 2004 and to 25% in 2014. However, the share of couples without childrenthis figure levelled out in 2020. An even larger change occurredEven bigger changes have occurred when it comes to couples with dependent children. This category's share fellThis category shrank from 52% in 1984 to 36% in 2020. In contrast, the percentage of lone parents trebled over the same period, rising from 4% in 1984 to 12% in 2020. The percentage of families with non-dependent children has remained more stable: 10% in 1984, rising only 1% over the next 20 years before falling to 9% in 2014. In conclusion, the table shows definite patterns of change within the Canadian family over the 36-year periodpast 40 years, in particular the decline in the traditional modeltraditional. model of aone couple with dependent children.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response selects all major household categories accurately and communicates the dominant shifts clearly, especially the fall in couples with dependent children and the growth of smaller or child-free households. Its main limitation is presentation: the entire report forms one block, and the concluding sentence contains a distracting punctuation slip. Organise the overview and details into clear paragraphs while keeping the same precise comparisons.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report provides a clear overview and accurately covers every household category, with well-selected comparisons across the period.
Retain this broad coverage while making the levelling-off patterns for one-person and child-free couple households explicit in the overview.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overall trend to contrasting household categories, with cohesive referencing used effectively.
Separate the overview and detailed comparisons into purposeful paragraphs to make the structure immediately visible.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise range, including terms such as doubled, levelled out, shrank, and trebled, describes the trends naturally.
Maintain this precision while replacing the slightly conversational phrase when it comes to with a more concise academic transition.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied complex structures are handled accurately throughout, and the isolated punctuation error does not impede meaning.
Proofread the final sentence to remove the stray full stop between traditional and model.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The table below shows the changes in some household types in Canada from 1984 to 2020.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.