Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-06

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

PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY

Student answer (Band 5.5)

the table illustrates the percentage of people living in different type of households in great britain between 1971 and 2007.

overall, the the people live in non parent was increased, And also couple live without child in over the period. furthermore, the non dependent children slightly decreased over the period.

it is clear that the people live in one parson was 6% in 1971 and 8% in 1981 then 11% in 1991, while 12% in 2001 and remain constant in 2007. by contrast, the one family households and couple was live without children. the individuals was live no children 19% in 1971 and 20% in 1981, then 25% in 2001 and 2007.

it is evident that the dependent children live 52% in 1971 and 20% in 1981 and also 23% in 1991, but then slightly declined and come to 39% in 2001 and 36% in 2007. in addition, the non dependent children live were not changed in 1971 and 1981, while it slightly inclined and reach 9% in 2001 and 2007 and remain stable.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response attempts to address the prompt by reporting information from the table on household types in Great Britain, presenting an overview and selecting several figures. However, the data reporting contains significant inaccuracies and confusion. For instance, the text claims that 'dependent children live 52% in 1971 and 20% in 1981', which misreads the 47% figure for 1981, and attributes the 20% value to the wrong category. Furthermore, the overview is rather vague and mechanical, failing to clearly capture the broader overarching trends across the categories. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to ensure greater accuracy when citing data from the visual source and develop a clearer, more precise summary of the main trends without misstating statistics.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some overall organization by attempting to structure the data into paragraphs, beginning with a brief introduction and overview, followed by body details. However, the progression of ideas is often unclear and repetitive. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as repetitive transitions like 'over the period' and 'then', which makes the flow mechanical rather than natural. Paragraphing is also poorly managed, as sentences are clustered together without logical grouping of categories. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the writer should employ a wider and more accurate range of cohesive links, ensure that information is logically sequenced by category or trend, and use clear paragraph breaks to separate distinct ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The vocabulary is heavily restricted and repetitive, relying on basic terms such as 'percentage', 'people', and 'period'. There are notable word choice and word formation errors, such as 'non parent', 'couple live without child', and 'one parson', which demonstrate an insufficient grasp of proper collocation and form. Additionally, minor spelling errors occur. To reach a higher band, the writer must expand their vocabulary range, incorporate less common and more precise lexical items appropriate for describing statistical data (e.g., proportion, demographic, figures), and ensure accurate word forms and spelling throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences and basic clauses. Attempts at more complex structures or passive forms are frequently faulty, resulting in awkward and ungrammatical phrasing such as 'the people live in non parent was increased', 'the one family households and couple was live without children', and 'the non dependent children live were not changed'. Frequent errors in verb forms, tenses, prepositions within structures, and article usage cause noticeable difficulty for the reader. To improve, the writer needs to strengthen basic sentence construction, ensure proper subject-verb agreement and tense consistency when describing past data, and reduce the frequency of grammatical errors.

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

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