Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-29

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 4.5)

The bar chart compares households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011, measured in % of households.

Overall, it is quite evident that households in rented accommodation recorded the highest figure in 1918, whilst households in owned accommodation had the lowest value in the same year. Both accommodations had exactly the same value in 1971.

Households in rented increased rapidly through out the period whilst households in owned decresed. Rented accommodations was higher number in 1918, that accounted for nearly 80%. That accommodation decresed with the time, but owned accommodations incresed with time. In 1971, both accommodations were at same propotion of households, at accounted 50% of households.

After 1971, owned accommodation consistently increased through out period. that accommodation made highest number in 2001, which was arround 70% and same year rented accommodation made their lowest percentage of households, accounted at 30%. At the end timeline, owned accommodation at higher position than rented accommodation. owned accommodation were at over 60% and rented accommodation at below 40% of households.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The student attempts to address the main features of the chart, noting the general trends and the crossover point in 1971. However, the student's attempt to describe the trends contains major factual reversals. In the third paragraph, the writer states that 'Households in rented increased rapidly... whilst households in owned decresed', which directly contradicts the visual data showing that homeownership rose significantly while renting declined. Furthermore, data reporting is often vague (e.g., 'at accounted 50%', 'arround 70%'), and the conclusion misinterprets the 2011 figures by stating owned accommodation was 'over 60%' and rented 'below 40%', when ownership actually peaked earlier and declined slightly by 2011 while renting rose. Due to these significant data inaccuracies and reversed trends, the task is only partially achieved.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and separate body paragraphs addressing the trends before and after 1971. However, cohesion is frequently faulty or mechanical. The student relies heavily on simplistic chronological sequencing ('In 1971', 'After 1971', 'At the end timeline') and uses referencing inconsistently, such as 'that accommodation' and 'same year rented accommodation made their lowest percentage'. Furthermore, paragraphing lacks effective internal progression, and transitions between sentences can feel abrupt or disjointed, which pulls down the overall flow of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, heavily relying on words directly lifted from the prompt such as 'households', 'owned', 'rented', and 'accommodation'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'proportion' and 'percentage', but these are often accompanied by word-choice or collocation errors (e.g., 'at accounted 50%', 'made highest number'). Spelling errors are also prevalent throughout the text, including 'decresed', 'incresed', 'propotion', 'arround', and 'through out'. The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The student uses a mix of simple sentence forms and attempts at more complex structures, but these attempts are frequently faulty. There are persistent grammatical errors, including missing auxiliary verbs and prepositions (e.g., 'Both accommodations had exactly the same value', 'Households in rented increased', 'rented accommodations was higher number', 'owned accommodation at higher position'). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, with missing capital letters at the beginnings of sentences (e.g., 'that accommodation made...'). While meaning can generally be parsed despite the numerous errors, the frequency of grammatical slips prevents the response from achieving a higher band.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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