IELTS Writing Task 1: Weekly Housework Hours by Gender Bar Chart

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Writing Prompt

The bar chart below shows the average number of hours per week that men and women spent on housework in four countries in one year. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Show Band 8–9 model answer

The bar chart compares the average number of hours per week that men and women devoted to housework in four countries: Alderton, Brisley, Calder and Denby, in a particular year.

Overall, women consistently spent more time on domestic tasks than men in all four countries, with the widest gender gap in Calder and the narrowest in Denby. In addition, women in Calder recorded the highest housework hours, while men in Denby did the least.

In Alderton, women carried out approximately 18 hours of housework per week, compared with about 8 hours for men, a gap of roughly 10 hours. A similar pattern is evident in Brisley, where women did around 16 hours, while men contributed just under half of that, at about 7 hours.

The disparity was greatest in Calder. Here, women spent close to 22 hours weekly on household chores, whereas men did only about 6 hours, resulting in a difference of around 16 hours. By contrast, Denby showed the most balanced division of labour: women did roughly 14 hours and men about 10 hours per week, which was both the smallest gap and the highest male contribution among the four countries.

Why this response works

This response would likely achieve a high band because it provides a clear overview highlighting key trends: the consistent gender difference, the largest and smallest gaps, and extremes for each gender. Data are accurately reported and compared, with appropriate groupings (Alderton/Brisley vs Calder/Denby). The organisation is logical, moving from general to specific and country by country. Vocabulary is varied yet precise (e.g. “disparity”, “division of labour”), and grammar is largely error-free with a range of complex sentences, supporting strong coherence and lexical resource scores.