Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-31

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The given repersantion demonstrates the percentage of owned and rented household accommodation in England in the time period of 1918 to 2011.

To begin with the year 1918, there were 23% of owned houses and 77% of rentals. Whereas in year 1939 the amount of owned houses increased at 32% and rentals got decreased to 79%. Moving to the year 1953, both accommodation remaind constant at same percentage as 1939. 41% was of owned houses and rentals were at 59% in year 1961.

Moving further, in the year 1981, a huge change can be seen where owned accommodations had more percentage than rented ones at 60% and 40%, respectively. In year 1991 and 2001, there was a little change of 1% in both years, the rented ones were 32%, 31% and owned ones had 68%, 69% in year 1991 and 2001, respectively. Whereas in year 2011 rented ones had 36% and owned ones had 64%.

At last, surprisingly both owned and renatals were at 50% in year 1971.

Overall, households in owned accommodation increased and households in rented accommodation decreased during the time period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data points to support your summary. You covered the period from 1918 to 2011 and highlighted the shift from rented to owned accommodation. However, there are some inaccuracies in your data reporting. For instance, you stated that in 1939, rentals decreased to 79%, but 32% owned and 79% rented would total 111%, which is mathematically impossible. Additionally, the chronological flow is slightly disrupted by placing the 1971 data at the end of the body paragraphs rather than in its correct sequence. To improve, ensure your data points are accurate and maintain a strictly chronological order to enhance the clarity of your report.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the information. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Moving further', and 'Overall'. However, the logical progression is hindered by the placement of the 1971 data at the end of the response, which feels disconnected from the rest of the timeline. Furthermore, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on ensuring that all data points are presented in a logical, chronological sequence and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the main features of the chart, using terms like 'accommodation', 'constant', and 'percentage'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'repersantion' (representation), 'remaind' (remained), and 'renatals' (rentals). Additionally, some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'amount of owned houses' instead of 'proportion of owned houses'. To improve, focus on proofreading your work to eliminate basic spelling mistakes and try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to data trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'peaked', or 'remained stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'there were 23% of owned houses' (should be '23% of houses were owned') and 'both accommodation remaind constant at same percentage as 1939'. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the overall fluency of the text. To improve, work on subject-verb agreement and the correct structure for reporting percentages.

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

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