Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-19

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 various changes in eight different household types in Great Britain between the year 1971 and 2007. Units are measured in percentage.

Overall, the dependent children recorded a steady increase in percentage over the years and decreased gradually towards the remaining years, following this household type of No children also experience gradual fluctuations in their percentage over the years. While other houses recorded smaller percentages over the years except for one-family households and couple who recorded no percent over the years.

Initially, dependent children recorded about 52% by the 1971 and declined to about 47% by the year 1981, and then to 41% in 1991 and then decreased to 39% in 2001 and by 2007 36%. No children household types recorded 19% in the year 1971 and decreased by 1 in 1981, and 3 percent decrease by 1991 and remained constant over the years.

In contrast, Non- dependent children remained constant from the year 1971 to 1981, it decrease by 1% in 1991 and 9% throughout the following years. One person household type recorded 6% in the first and rose by 2% in 1981 and by 1991it got to 11% and then 12% in the following years, while Lone parent recorded 4% in the first year and by 1981 it recorded 6% and then 10% by 1991, and by 2001 it recorded 12% and remained constant in the following years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarize the data but fails to provide a clear or accurate overview. The 'Overall' paragraph contains confusing and contradictory statements, such as claiming dependent children increased steadily while the data shows a clear downward trend. Furthermore, the description of the data is often inaccurate; for instance, stating that 'one-family households' recorded no percent is incorrect based on the provided table. While the response covers several categories, the lack of precision in reporting the figures and the failure to identify the most significant trends (such as the decline in households with children versus the rise in one-person households) significantly limits the effectiveness of the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The 'Overall' paragraph is particularly problematic, as it misinterprets the data trends, making it difficult for the reader to follow the intended summary. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Initially' and 'In contrast', but they are sometimes applied to link ideas that do not logically follow one another. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the internal structure of the paragraphs is somewhat repetitive, relying on a list-like approach to data reporting rather than a cohesive analysis of the trends.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'recorded about', 'decreased by', and 'remained constant' are used repeatedly throughout the text. There are also instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'the remaining years' and 'in the first year', which do not accurately describe the timeline of the data. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey basic information, it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band score. There is little evidence of less common lexical items or an awareness of collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but grammatical errors are frequent. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'couple who recorded no percent'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward sentence construction. Punctuation is generally functional, but the flow is often interrupted by grammatical slips, such as 'by the 1971' and 'it decrease by 1%'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to demonstrate a lack of control over more complex structures.

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