Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-24
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 percentage of households that owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 to 2011.
Overall, it is clear that the householders with their own houses increased over the period while, the proportion of rented accommodation declined. The two figures became equal in 1971.
On the one hand, in 1918 the number of householders in rented accommodation showed a significant growth by approximately 79 percent in contrast with the percentage of householders having their own residence with only 21 percent. Between 1939 and 1961, the percentage of householders with rented homes declined slightly from 69% to 59%, while the percentage of house owners increased from 31% to 42%. In 1971, both householders showed an equal proportion at 50%.
In contrast, the householders with rental accommodation continued to decline from 40% to 31% till the year 2001 and then increased by 33% in 2011, following that the figure of residents with their own homes continued to increase from 60% to 69% till the year 200, and then fluctuates and showed a slight decrease to 62%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses the main task requirements by identifying key trends and making appropriate comparisons over the period. The overview correctly highlights the main developments: the rise in homeownership and the decline in renting, along with the crossover point in 1971. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific data points. For instance, the student states that in 1918 rented accommodation was approximately '79 percent' (actual is 77%) and owned was '21 percent' (actual is 23%), which contain minor data errors. Furthermore, the final paragraph contains confusion regarding dates and figures, mentioning 'till the year 200' and 'fluctuates' with figures that deviate slightly from the source chart. Despite these minor data inaccuracies, the overall response covers all parts of the prompt well enough to earn a solid band score.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from the introduction to the overview and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used, though the body structure becomes slightly cluttered towards the end. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Overall', 'On the one hand', and 'In contrast', which generally guide the reader through the information. However, the use of 'In contrast' at the start of the final paragraph is slightly repetitive and logically misplaced since it follows a previous contrasting section. Referencing and logical sequencing are mostly clear, but the flow falters in the final sentences due to grammatical friction and chronological confusion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'illustrates', 'proportion', 'decline', and 'fluctuates'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary and precise reporting language. However, word choice and collocation errors are noticeable, such as 'householders with their own houses' instead of 'households in owned accommodation', and 'both householders showed an equal proportion' instead of 'the two categories reached an equal proportion'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical control falls short of higher bands due to these imprecise phrasings.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using relative clauses and comparative forms such as 'The bar chart illustrates the percentage of households that owned...' and 'while, the proportion of rented accommodation declined.' There are several grammatical errors and punctuation awkwardnesses, such as the unnecessary comma before 'the proportion' and prepositional slips like 'showed a significant growth by approximately 79 percent' instead of 'stood at approximately 79 percent'. Additionally, incomplete phrasing or typographical slips like 'till the year 200' affect grammatical accuracy. Nevertheless, communication is not severely impeded.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.