The table below shows the household composition in a North American country from 1970 and 2003.

Household composition in a North American country in 1970 and 2003 - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 7 · 184 words.

The provided table details the information regarding household composition in a North American country in 1970 and 2003. By and large, the composition of the family household with a married couple remained the largest in both years, albeit slightly smaller than before. While the compositions of some other types of family household had marginal changes, the non-family household's compositions expanded triple in size over the period.

Looking first at family household types, the household type with a married couple maintained the largest composition in both years with 61% in 1970 and 41% in 2003, albeit smaller. The remaining types, such as households inwhich a father or a mother lived with a kid and the shared family household, had only a marginal increase of 1%, ranging from 10% to 14% by 2003.

As for non-family household, their compositions increased roughly triple in terms of compositions over the period. While the single type expanded from 4% to 13% by 2003 while the composition of the room sharing household type reached up to 11% at the end despite having the smallest figure among household types in 1970.

Examiner feedback

The response is a well-structured and clear analysis of the table. It successfully identifies the most significant trends, particularly the decline in married couple households and the sharp rise in non-family households. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on eliminating minor grammatical slips and refining vocabulary for more natural academic expression.

Task Achievement - 7

- The response covers all key requirements of the task, including a clear overview of the main trends. - Key features are highlighted, specifically the dominance of married couples and the growth of non-family households. - Data is used to support the description, though some comparisons could be more precise (e.g., clarifying the "marginal increase of 1%" across different categories).

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Paragraphs are logically divided between family and non-family household types. - Information is sequenced effectively, moving from the most dominant category to the smaller ones. - Cohesive devices like "albeit", "while", and "as for" provide a clear progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource - 7

- A good range of vocabulary is used to describe trends, including "marginal changes," "expanded," and "composition." - Some phrasing is slightly unnatural or repetitive, such as "expanded triple in size" instead of "tripled in size" or "increased threefold." - Collocations are generally accurate, aiding the clarity of the description.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 7

- Frequent error-free sentences are present throughout the response. - The student uses a variety of complex structures, such as "albeit slightly smaller than before." - There is a noticeable error in sentence construction: "While... while..." (using two subordinating conjunctions in one sentence), and the spelling error "inwhich".

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