Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-12
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 given table illustrates the proportion of percentage of people in households by the different type of household and families in Great Britain over a period of 36 years from 1971 to 2007.
Overall ,It is clear from the table, the major increase happened in people living as lone parent and people living alone, whereas the same pattern can be seen with a slight increase in no children and lone parent category. In opposite to that , family with dependent child and non-dependent child decreased.
The percentage of people who like live alone raised up to 12 % in 2007 from 6% in 1971.The family households couples with no children rose staidly from 19 % to 25% in 1971 to 2007 ,respectively. Families living as a lone parents increased dramatically making it three times the original percentage 12% in 2007. In contrast ,households with Dependent children and non-dependent children fell from 52% to 36% and 10% to 9% in 1971 to 2007 respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully highlights the main features and trends of the provided table, covering the period from 1971 to 2007. An overview is provided, noting the major increases in lone-parent and single-person households compared to the decrease in families with children. Key data points are selected and reported, such as single-person households rising to 12% and lone parents tripling. However, there are some minor confusions in grouping categories within the overview sentence (e.g., repeating 'lone parent' and mentioning 'no children' incorrectly as increasing while simultaneously stating family households with dependent children fell). Nevertheless, all parts of the prompt are addressed with relevant data comparisons, aligning well with a Band 6.0 descriptor.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is structured into three paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph detailing the data. Progression is generally coherent, though the cohesion is sometimes clumsy or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'In opposite to that' and 'In contrast' are used, but punctuation and spacing errors around commas disrupt the flow (e.g., 'Overall ,It is clear', 'In opposite to that ,'). Referencing and referencing devices are present, but paragraphing could be improved by separating the rising and falling trends into distinct body paragraphs to enhance logical flow. This places the response firmly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for a data task, utilizing terms such as 'proportion', 'dramatically', 'staidly' (intended as steadily), and 'fluctuations' (implied through trends). However, there are several lexical errors and awkward collocations. For example, 'proportion of percentage' is redundant, 'who like live alone' contains a grammatical and lexical slip, and 'staidly' is a misspelling/misuse of 'steadily'. Additionally, 'lone parents' shifts to singular/plural inconsistencies. The range is adequate to convey the meaning, but errors in word choice and spelling prevent a higher score, making Band 5.5 appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('The percentage of people who like live alone...') and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are noticeable errors such as missing infinitives ('who like live'), tense and form issues ('rose staidly'), preposition errors ('couples with no children rose staidly from 19 % to 25% in 1971 to 2007, respectively'), and punctuation spacing errors. While communication is not severely impeded, these frequent errors across a limited range of complex forms restrict the score to Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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