Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-18

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 given table illustrates information about the proportionate changes in the types of household of Great Britain from 1971 to 2007.

Overall, after scrutinizing the 5 different years' proportion, it is evident that the dependent children were mostly dominating figures, while one person and lone parent are gradually increased by year after year.

One-family households and couple remained surprisingly vacant for all the years, while no children's ration stayed from 19 to 25 percent accounting for 19% in 1971 and 25% in 2025. However, the highest number of dependent children were in 1971(52%), subsequently a steady fall is noted which stood at 36% in 2007. Afterwards, the proportion of non-dependent children fluctuated and remained between 9 to 11% among the years.

Turning to the other options, proportion of one person and lone parent slowly increased throughout the years- one person was 6% in 1971, but been doubled by next 36 years. In addition to this, the percentage of lone parent become triple from 4 to 12 in the timeline.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, including the trends for dependent children, one-person households, and lone parents. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, you mention '2025' as a year, which is not present in the table, and you state 'no children's ration' which is unclear and misinterprets the data categories. The overview is somewhat vague, and the description of 'one-family households' as 'vacant' is factually incorrect based on the provided table. To improve, ensure you carefully transcribe figures and avoid misinterpreting the labels provided in the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on specific categories. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'Turning to the other options' are used to guide the reader. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'after scrutinizing the 5 different years' proportion'. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal cohesion within sentences is sometimes weak due to grammatical errors, which makes the flow feel slightly mechanical at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but there are instances of imprecise or incorrect word choice. For example, describing households as 'vacant' is a misuse of the term in this context, and 'mostly dominating figures' is unnatural. You attempt to use some variety, such as 'proportionate changes' and 'fluctuated', but the overall control is inconsistent. To reach a higher band, focus on using collocations more accurately and avoid using words that do not fit the context of statistical reporting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity, such as 'the percentage of lone parent become triple' (should be 'became tripled' or 'tripled') and 'been doubled by next 36 years' (missing subject and incorrect tense). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in article usage and verb tense consistency. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band score.

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

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