Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The table below shows the change in some household types in Great Britain from 1971 to 2007.

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

PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY

Student answer (Band 5.5)

This table chart shows the percentage of people living in dofferent household types in Geat britain between 1971 to 2007 overall couples with dependent children remained the most common household type throughout the period although their proporation gradually declinedin contrast the percentage of people livin alone and in one parent families increased significantly in 1971 52% of people lived in couples with dependent children the figure fell steadly to 47% in 1981 41% in 1991 39% in 2001 and finally 36 in 2007 by comparison couples without children became more common rising from 19% in 1971 to 25% in both 2001 and 2007 the proporation of people living alone also show an upward trend it increased from only 6% in 1971 to 8% in 1981 and reached 12% by 2001 remaining unchanged in 2007 nsimilarly the percentage of people living in one parent family frew from 4% to 12% over the same period meanwhile couples with non dependent children accounted for around 10% in 1971 and 1981 before falling slightly to 9% in both2011 and 2007

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key features of the data, including the overall trends and specific comparisons between household types. You successfully identified the decline in couples with dependent children and the growth in single-person and one-parent households. However, the report lacks a clear structure; it is presented as a single block of text without paragraph breaks, which makes it harder to follow. Additionally, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as the typo '2011' instead of '2001' at the end of the text. To improve, ensure you group related data points into distinct paragraphs to highlight the main features more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response suffers significantly from a lack of paragraphing, which is a requirement for a clear, logical presentation in IELTS Task 1. While the information is sequenced chronologically and logically, the absence of paragraph breaks makes the text feel like a 'wall of words'. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'in contrast', 'by comparison', and 'similarly', which help connect ideas; however, the lack of structural organization prevents the response from reaching a higher band. To improve, divide your report into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on different categories or trends.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'upward trend', and 'accounted for' correctly. There are several spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'dofferent', 'Geat britain', 'proporation', 'steadly', and 'frew', which are distracting. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they indicate a lack of proofreading. To reach a higher band, focus on accuracy in spelling and try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary to describe the trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'experienced a marginal increase'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the lack of punctuation is a major issue. The entire text is essentially one long run-on sentence, which makes it difficult to read and negatively impacts the grammatical score. There are also errors in basic grammar, such as missing articles and inconsistent verb tenses. To improve, you must use full stops to separate sentences and ensure that each sentence has a clear subject and verb. Focusing on basic sentence construction and punctuation will significantly improve the clarity and quality of your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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