Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-18

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 table illustrates the variation in some household types in Great Britain between 1971 to 2007.

Overall, it is clear that lone parent accounted for the lowest percentage through out the period while dependent children made up the largest percentage. Whereas, one-family households and couple made up 0%.

On the one hand, In 1971, dependent children made up 52%, no children 19%, non-dependent children made up 10%, one person 6% and lone parent 4%. In 1981, the percentage of dependent children decreased to 47, no-dependent children remained same while the others went up. In 1991, one-person made up 11%, no children increased to 23%, dependent children seemed to be declined to 41% whereas non-dependent children and lone parent comprised of 11% and 10% respectively.

On the other hand, In 2001 and 2007, one person comprised of 12%, no children 25%, non-dependent children made up 9% and lone parent constituted 12%. However, dependent children made up 39% in 2001 and declined to 36% in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You report several key figures accurately, including the fall in households with dependent children from 52% to 36%, and the rise in one-person and lone-parent households. However, the overview contains a major misreading: “one-family households and couple made up 0%” is not supported by the table; the listed one-family categories have substantial percentages. The overview also says lone-parent households were the lowest throughout, but by 2007 they were tied with one-person households at 12%. The response mainly lists figures by year rather than selecting and comparing the most important trends, and the 1981 account is vague. A more accurate overview and clearer comparisons between the rising and falling categories would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The chronological grouping helps readers follow the figures, and phrases such as “In 1991” and “In 2001 and 2007” provide basic signposting. However, progression is weakened by the inaccurate overview and by the division into “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” which does not express a meaningful contrast between the periods. Several details are presented as a list, with limited comparison across years, and “the others went up” does not clearly identify which categories changed. Organise the body around trends—rising categories versus declining ones—and use precise references to maintain clearer links between figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related terms, including “decreased,” “increased,” “comprised” and “constituted,” so the main trends are generally understandable. However, some choices are inaccurate or awkward: “variation” is less precise than “changes,” “lone parent” needs to refer to a household category, and “no-dependent children” is not the table’s label. Repeated use of “made up” and “percentage” also makes the report sound list-like. Aim for accurate category names and a wider set of natural trend expressions, such as “accounted for,” “rose,” “fell” and “remained stable.” This would improve precision without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the contrast in “Whereas, one-family households and couple made up 0%” and the clause beginning “However.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “between 1971 to 2007” uses an incorrect preposition pattern; write “between 1971 and 2007.” “Dependent children seemed to be declined” has an incorrect verb form, and “lone parent accounted” needs an article or plural subject. Capitalisation after sentence openings is inconsistent, as in “On the one hand, In 1971.” Check verb forms, articles and punctuation, and use a few well-controlled complex sentences to compare trends.

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