Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-20
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 image is a bar graph which illustrate the vital information regarding house as a own property or rented accommodation in Wales and England from 1918 to 2011.
Overall, it is evident that over the periods people living in rented accomodation follow the downward trend, on the other hand individuals who owned on property for accommodation trend slowly increased. Another noticeable point is that in 1971 both accounted for same proportion.
Looking at the first year 1918, mojority of people living in rental accommodation almost 76%, while only 23% inidividuals living in own houses. Although in 1939 to 1953 rental accommodation slighty decline, and owned accommodation increased to 31%. Moreover, in 1971 both are at the same point half people living in rented houses while other half have owned homes.
Truning to the next year 1981, households in rented accommodation follow U-shape downward trend mean that, it slighty decline in 1991 to 2001, then in last year there was gradually increased recorded above 30%. Owned accommodation dramatically go up and touching its all time peak point almost 69% in 2001, then slightly decreased to 63% in 2011.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers all key features of the chart, providing an adequate summary and highlighting major trends, such as the inverse relationship between owned and rented accommodation over the 1918–2011 period, as well as the notable crossover point in 1971. The overview is clearly stated, and the main data points are reported with reasonable accuracy, such as the peak of owned accommodation in 2001 at nearly 69%. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some of the data reporting; for example, the student states that in 1939 rental accommodation 'slight[l]y decline' and owned accommodation increased to 31% (when owned was 32%), and mentions 63% in 2011 instead of 64%. Despite these minor numerical slips, the task is well addressed overall.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into a logical paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to an overall trend summary, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific decades. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall, it is evident', 'Looking at the first year', and 'Turning to the next year'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally clumsy or mechanical, as seen in phrases like 'follow U-shape downward trend mean that, it slighty decline'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but overall progression can feel slightly disjointed due to grammatical phrasing issues within transition sentences.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a Task 1 response, attempting less common items such as 'downward trend', 'proportion', 'dramatically', and 'peak point'. However, there are frequent word-choice errors, non-standard collocations, and grammatical form issues, such as 'house as a own property', 'owned on property', 'mojority', and 'gradually increased' instead of 'gradual increase'. These lexical errors occasionally distract the reader, though they do not impede overall communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and subordinate constructions (e.g., 'while only 23% inidividuals living in own houses'). However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing auxiliary verbs ('which illustrate', 'both accounted for'), incorrect verb forms ('people living in rental accommodation almost 76%', 'owned accommodation dramatically go up'), and spelling errors ('mojority', 'slighty', 'Truning'). These errors occur frequently and require some effort to decode.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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