Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-12

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)

The table illustrates the proportion of various household in Britain between 1971 and 2007.

Overall, the non dependent and dependent children household described declined proportion by the end of period, while single person household with lone parent and no children showed increment by the end of 2007.

To begin with, the majority of single individual preferred to live alone as the year passes from 6 percentage to 12 percentage by the end of 2007, similarly the people with no children and lone parent accounted for 19% and 4% in the beginning and 25% and 12% by the end of period respectively.

In contrast, the ration of the individual with dependent and non dependent child showed up declined trend for owing house by the end of 2007 with 52% to 36% and 10% to 9% respectively, however the the households with non dependent children dropped only by 1%, after the same growth in the middle of period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the table and makes relevant comparisons. You successfully identified the key trends, such as the rise in single-person households and the decline in households with dependent children. However, the report lacks precision in data reporting. For instance, you mention '6 percentage to 12 percentage' without specifying the year, and the description of the 'non dependent' category is slightly confusing. To reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are clearly linked to their respective years and categories, and avoid vague phrasing like 'the end of period' when specific years are provided in the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'In contrast' to link your points. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. For example, the sentence structure in the second paragraph is a bit repetitive. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid rather than relying on a list-like structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several instances of word-choice errors and non-standard collocations. For example, you use 'ration' instead of 'ratio' or 'proportion', and 'showed increment' instead of 'increased'. Additionally, 'owing house' is not an accurate way to describe household types. To improve, focus on using more precise terminology related to data analysis, such as 'experienced a downward trend' or 'accounted for a significant share'. Expanding your range of reporting verbs and nouns will help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include missing articles ('the majority of single individual'), incorrect verb forms ('showed up declined trend'), and punctuation errors. The sentence 'however the the households' contains a repetition error. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles to improve your accuracy.

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

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