Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-21
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 graph illustrates the percentage of people who lived in owned and rented houses in two countries England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.
As can be seen in the bar graph, in 1918 almost 78% of people lived in rented accommodation. However, from 1939 to 2001 the figure for people who lived in rented accomndation decreased considerably. Eventually in 2011 the graph for rented households increased and reached roughly 39%.
According to the graph, in 1918 the figure for owned accommodation was 21%, whereas from 1939 to 2001 the graph for owned accommodation increased substantially. In addition, in 2011 the number of owned households decreased and reached 61%. Moreover, in 1971 the graph for rented houses and owned houses were at the same peak.
Overall, it is clear from the graph that owned accommodation remained popular throughout the period. whereas rented accommodation experienced a significant fall in popularity.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover the main trends in the chart regarding owned and rented accommodation between 1918 and 2011. However, there are a few inaccuracies in the data reported. For instance, the student states that in 1918 'almost 78% of people lived in rented accommodation' and owned accommodation was 21%, whereas the true figures are around 77% and 23%. More importantly, the final data points for 2011 are misstated: the student claims rented reached roughly 39% and owned decreased to 61%, whereas the actual figures are approximately 36% and 64%. Furthermore, the length requirement of 150 words is not met, as the response contains 149 words, resulting in a minor penalty under Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement with a distinct introduction, body paragraphs, and an overall concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Eventually', and 'In addition' are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately, separating the description of rented accommodation from owned accommodation and ending with a summary statement. However, referencing and logical progression are occasionally hindered by the data inaccuracies noted in Task Achievement, and the relationship between ideas could be smoother.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'substantially', 'considerable', and 'popularity'. There is a spelling error with 'accomndation', and some minor awkwardness in phrasing, such as 'the graph for rented households'. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general meaning, and the errors do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, the student should employ more precise phrasing and avoid repeating sentence structures like 'the graph for...'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time markers (e.g., 'The graph illustrates the percentage of people who lived in...'). There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as treating countries as a description of people ('two countries England and Wales') and the punctuation error in the opening sentence. However, the majority of simple sentences are error-free, and complex structures are generally understandable, meaning the errors rarely impede communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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