Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-11

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 bar chart shows the percentage of households in England and wales with numbers of that lived in owned and rented accommodation between 1918 and 2011.

In general, what stands out from the graph is that while the number of owned households witnessed a slight decline from 1918, the number of rented households experienced a different trend. Another interesting and important point is that, in year 1971, these two types of accommodation had an equal percentage of households.

At the beginning of the period in 1918, renting was far more common then owning, with the vast majority of households living in rented accommodation. However, homeownership gradually increased over the years, and by 1971, the two categories were equal, marking a major change in housing treads.

following this, homeownership continued to rise, reaching a peak in 2001, while the percentage of renters declined. however, from 2001 to 2011, this tread slightly reversed, with accommodation becoming more common again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the chart, including the starting point, the crossover in 1971, and the peak in 2001. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For instance, the description of the trends is quite general, and the final sentence is vague, referring to 'accommodation' becoming more common without specifying that it refers to renting. To reach a higher band, you should include more specific data points (e.g., the approximate percentages in 1918 or 2011) to support your observations. The overview is present but could be more clearly integrated into the structure.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'In general', 'However', and 'following this' are used to guide the reader. However, the referencing is occasionally weak; for example, the phrase 'this tread slightly reversed' in the final paragraph is slightly ambiguous because the antecedent is not perfectly clear. Additionally, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the main points, such as 'witnessed a slight decline', 'vast majority', and 'marking a major change'. However, there are some spelling errors, such as 'treads' instead of 'trends' and 'wales' (which should be capitalized). The word choice is generally appropriate, but there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise terminology that would elevate the response. The repetition of 'households' and 'accommodation' is noticeable; using synonyms or rephrasing would improve the lexical variety.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'in year 1971' (should be 'in the year 1971' or 'in 1971') and 'renting was far more common then owning' (should be 'than'). There are also issues with capitalization, such as 'wales'. The punctuation is generally functional, but the inconsistent capitalization and minor errors in prepositions and comparative structures prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Most sentences are understandable, and errors do not impede communication.

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

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