Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-18
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 illustrates the proportion of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and wales from 1918 to 2011.
Overall, it is clearly seen that the percentage of rented house showed a downward trend throughout the period, while the proportion of people living in owned houses, showed an upward trend over the period in both countries.
Turning to data, the most popular accommodation from 1918 to 1961 was the rented rather than owned houses. At the beginning of the period, the figure for rented accommodation was more than three times that of owned houses. But in 1971, owned and rented houses recorded identical figures, accounting for 50%.
Furthermore, the proportion of owned houses considerably increased, form 60 to around 70% in 1981 and 2011 respectively. In addition, the percentage of rented accommodation was just below 40% in the following years.
The figure for owned houses was considerably higher than that for rented accommodation, standing at above 60% and below 40% respectively. Rented houses consistantly held a top position in 1918, edging down from around 80 to 40%, a drop to 40-percentage-points.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers the main trends in the bar chart, noting the overall downward trend for rented accommodation and the upward trend for owned housing. An overview is present, and key features such as the crossover point in 1971 are highlighted. However, there are some inaccuracies and confusions in the data reporting. For instance, the student states that the trend occurred 'in both countries', whereas the chart clearly specifies England and Wales as a single combined region. Furthermore, the sentence 'form 60 to around 70% in 1981 and 2011 respectively' misinterprets the 2011 figure, which actually dropped back to 64%. The final paragraph contains contradictory and confused statements regarding the percentages and timeframes. These inaccuracies and minor omissions prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The text is generally coherent and follows a logical overall arrangement. The student attempts to group information chronologically, starting with the overview and then moving into specific periods and comparisons. Paragraphing is used to separate different ideas, such as the introduction, overall trends, early period, and later developments. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Transitions like 'Turning to data' and 'Furthermore' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, the final paragraph feels disjointed and repetitive, summarizing data that was already mentioned or misreporting it without clear logical progression linking back to the main thesis. Overall logical organization is present, but the execution of cohesive devices and paragraph flow falls short of Band 7.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'proportion', 'downward trend', 'upward trend', and 'considerably increased'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'consistantly' (though misspelled) and 'edging down'. However, there are notable word-choice and spelling errors, such as 'rented house' instead of 'rented housing' or 'rented accommodation', and 'form' instead of 'from'. Additionally, the phrase 'a drop to 40-percentage-points' is awkward and inaccurate. While these lexical errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the score to Band 6 due to noticeable inaccuracies and limited precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'while the proportion of people living in owned houses, showed an upward trend...' and subordinate clauses beginning with 'At the beginning of the period...'. However, there are frequent punctuation and grammatical errors, including unnecessary commas (e.g., after 'houses') and spelling errors like 'consistantly'. Complex sentence attempts often contain minor structural flaws, and the final paragraph becomes grammatically confused and difficult to follow. Despite these errors, the majority of simple sentences are accurate, and communication is rarely impeded, placing the response solidly in the Band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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