Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-14

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 data displays the proportion of residents owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.

Overall, the proportion of households living in rented accommdation decreased considerably over the period, while home ownership followed the opposite trend. The two figures became almost equal around 1970s, after which owning a home became more common than renting.

In 1918, the rented accommodation was in enormous demand around 80 percent while owned housing was just under 25 percent. In 1939 to1953 rented households was around 70 percent and owned households was 30 percent. In 1970s, the both figures reached equal to equal proportion around 50 percent.

In 1980s, was the period in which this trend was reversed, the owned households was nearly 60 percent. From 1990 to 2001 the home ownership was reached to its highest point around 70 percent and rentend was nearly 30 percent. In 2011, the rentend houehoulds improved its proportion and reached to almost 40 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features and makes relevant comparisons between owned and rented accommodation from 1918 to 2011. The student correctly identifies the overarching trend of renting declining while home ownership rose, and notes the crossover point around the 1970s. Key data points are selected and reported, such as the starting figures in 1918 and the peak of home ownership. However, some specific data details are slightly imprecise or awkward in their formulation, such as 'In 1939 to 1953 rented households was around 70 percent', but the response still adequately addresses all parts of the task. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor for addressing all parts with relevant ideas, though some parts could be more fully or precisely developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into a clear introduction and separate body paragraphs, demonstrating a coherent overall arrangement. The progression of time is followed chronologically, which aids readability. However, cohesive devices and referencing are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, phrases like 'the both figures reached equal to equal proportion' and 'In 1980s, was the period' disrupt the flow and exhibit awkward connective structure. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion lacks flexibility and natural transitional links. This fits the Band 6 descriptor where cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is not always completely clear.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'proportion', 'households', 'accommodation', and 'trend'. There are, however, noticeable word-choice errors and spelling mistakes that detract from precision, such as 'rentend' instead of rented, 'houehoulds' instead of households, and awkward phrasing like 'rented accommodation was in enormous demand around 80 percent'. While less common vocabulary is attempted, inaccuracies occur frequently. Nevertheless, the meaning remains understandable throughout, which is characteristic of Band 5 or a low Band 6. Because communication is not impeded by these errors, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb agreement, prepositions, and articles, such as 'The data displays the proportion of residents owned and rented accommodation', 'reached equal to equal proportion', and 'In 1980s, was the period'. Additionally, several sentences lack proper main verbs or subjects, leading to fragmented or ungrammatical structures like 'In 1980s, was the period in which this trend was reversed, the owned households was nearly 60 percent'. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect typical Band 5 characteristics where attempts at complex structures are often faulty.

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

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