Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-17
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 4.0)
The bar chart shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.
Overall, percentage of rented households in 1918 approximatley 70 % higher rather than owned houses was 20 %. But in different years many people change their houses rented to own houses.
In 1918, almost half of England thay did not have their own houses 70 % live in rent house. In 1918, 70% rented house to 1971,50% was rented house.
in 1981, owned households percentage is higher then 1918, and the ratio of rented house is low. in these years 70 % rented in 1918, but in 1981, England and Wales have their own house. they do not live in rented house in 2011.
In 1918, rented house in higher but in 1991, to 2011 owned households is higher.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response attempts to describe the main trends in the chart, noting the general shift from rented to owned accommodation between 1918 and 2011. However, the data cited contains numerous inaccuracies and misreadings compared to the visual data. For example, the student states that in 1918, 70% lived in rented houses, but also claims rented was 70% higher rather than owned. Furthermore, the writing suffers from major comprehension issues towards the end, incorrectly asserting that 'they do not live in rented house in 2011.' Important trends, such as the peak of homeownership around 2001 followed by a slight decline, are missed. Additionally, the response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, containing only 140 words, which results in a further penalty under this criterion. Band 4.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The organizational structure of the response is extremely weak. Although there is an attempt at an introduction ('The bar chart shows...'), the body paragraphs lack logical sequencing and clear progression. Sentences are disjointed and often contradict one another, making it very difficult to follow the writer's line of thought. Paragraphing is poorly handled, with erratic line breaks and a lack of clear topical development. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused (e.g., 'But in different years...'), and referencing is frequently unclear, leading to confusion about which data points are being discussed. Band 4.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.0
The vocabulary used is very basic, repetitive, and heavily reliant on direct copying from the prompt (e.g., 'percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation'). The student struggles with word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout, producing awkward expressions such as 'rented house to 1971,50% was rented house' and 'rented house in higher'. There are also lexical inaccuracies that impede communication and demonstrate a very limited functional range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response. Band 4.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting almost entirely of simple sentences or poorly constructed, faulty complex attempts. There are frequent and severe grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'percentage of rented households... was'), tense confusion (mixing past and present haphazardly), and malformed sentence structures (e.g., 'in 1981, England and Wales have their own house. they do not live in rented house in 2011'). Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic. These errors frequently distort meaning and cause significant difficulty for the reader. Band 4.
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