IELTS Writing - Chart 33

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the consumer durables (telephone, refrigerator, etc.) owned in Britain from 1972 to 1983.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.

You should write at least 150 words.

Consumer durables	1972	1974	1976	1978	1979	1981	1982	1983
Percentage of households with:
central heating	39	43	48	52	55	59	60	64
television	93	95	96	96	97	97	97	98
video								18
vacuum cleaner	87	89	92	92	93	94	95
refrigerator	73	81	88	91	92	93	93	94
washing machine	66	68	71	75	74	78	79	80
dishwasher				3	3	4	4	5
telephone	42	50	54	60	67	75	76	77

Model answer:

The chart shows that the percentage of British households with a range of consumer durables steadily increased between 1972 and 1983. The greatest increase was in telephone ownership, rising from 42% in 1972 to 77% in 1983. Next came centralheating ownership, rising from 37% of households in 1972 to 64% in 1983. The percentage of households with a refrigerator rose 2 1% over the same period and of those with a washing machine by 14%. Households with vacuum-cleaners. televisions and dishwashers increased by 8%, 5% and 2% respectively. In 1983. the year of their introduction, 18% of households had a video recorder.

The significant social changes reflected in the statistics are that over the period the proportion of British houses with central heating rose from one to two thuds, and of those with a phone from under a half to over three-quarters. Together with the big increases in the ownership of washing machines and refrigerators, they are evidence of both rising living standards and the trend to lifestyles based on comfort and convenience.

(ielts-exam)