Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-03

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 below gives us information about the people in households by type of household and family from 1971 to 2007 in UK.

Overall,the highest percentage was of couple living with their dependent children different in each year.The highest was in 1971 around 52% which started to decline gradually till 2007 reaching 36%.In 1981,the percentage was around 47%.

The lowest percentage was of parents living alone with only 4% in 1971 which increased slightly till reaching 12% in 2001.The percentage reamined same in 2007.Likewise,the percentage of a single person living alone was also around 12% in 2001 and 2007.

The percentage of couple living with no children was moderate.The percentage was around 19% in 1971 reaching 25% in 2007.It kept rising through the period in Great Britain.The percentage of couple with independent children was similar around 10%in 1971 and 1981.It was also similar around 9% in the last two years.In 1991,the percentage was around 11%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response meets the task only partially because it falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 146 words (excluding copied prompt text). While the writer manages to identify some key features and trends, such as the decline in couple households with dependent children from 52% to 36%, other data points are only partially or mechanically reported. The overview statement is somewhat weak and awkwardly phrased, stating that the highest percentage was of couples with dependent children 'different in each year'. To reach a higher level, the response needs to extend beyond the minimum word count and provide a clearer, more fully developed overview that synthesises the broader trends across all categories without copying phrases directly from the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement, though cohesion is occasionally mechanical and referencing is sometimes unclear. Paragraphing is attempted, but the visual layout of the student's text is fragmented with erratic line breaks and spacing, which disrupts the natural flow of information. Cohesive devices are used in a basic manner, such as 'Overall,' and 'Likewise,', but logical progression between sentences could be smoother. For example, jumping between different household types without clear transitional links makes the progression slightly disjointed. To improve, the writer needs to ensure standard paragraph formatting is used and employ a wider, more natural variety of cohesive links to guide the reader seamlessly through the comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The lexical range is adequate for the task, though it contains noticeable limitations and errors that prevent a higher score. The student successfully uses vocabulary related to data trends, such as 'percentage', 'decline gradually', and 'increased slightly'. However, there are awkward word choices and spelling mistakes, such as 'reamined' instead of 'remained', and the phrase 'independent children' is used incorrectly instead of 'non-dependent children' based on the table data. Vocabulary repetition is also noticeable. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their range of less common lexical items, ensure greater precision in word choice, and eliminate spelling slips to communicate the data more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and time phrases ('which started to decline gradually till 2007'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, including missing prepositions and article errors, such as 'percentage was of couple living' instead of 'couples'. Another error is 'till reaching' instead of 'before reaching' or 'until it reached', and punctuation is occasionally clumsy, with spacing issues around commas and periods. To improve, the student needs to exercise better control over verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and articles in complex structures, ensuring that grammatical slips occur less frequently and do not distract the reader.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.