Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-06

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 vertical bar graph depicts that how many households were owned and rented accomodation in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011. The data has been callibrated into the form of percentage.

Overall, it is crystal clear that people owned their home after the year 1971 except in the given last year.

At a fleeting glance, it is evident that in the year of 1918, most of the people were lived in rented houses with 78%, it was highest percentage as compared to other years and only 22% of individuals were lived in thier own houses and it was followed by 1939 year, there was a decline in the percentage of rented accomodation by 10% and rose in the percentage of owned accomodation with 10% respectively. The percentage of both accomodation remained same till 1953.

In the year of 1971, the percentage of rented and owned accomodation were approximately same that was 50%. After this year, there was an increase in the accomodation of own houses and declined in rented houses with 60% and 40% orderly. There was a minor difference between

both accomodation with 69% owned houses and 31% rented houses in 1991 and 2001 year. After a decade, there was change in the percentage of both accomodation that 62% of people lived in their houses, whereas 38% people lived in rented houses.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the period from 1918 to 2011. The student provides a clear overview stating that homeownership eventually surpassed renting. Key data points, such as the inversion point around 1971 where both accommodation types stood at approximately 50 percent, are accurately identified. However, some parts of the response are slightly under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in the data reporting, such as stating that people owned homes 'except in the given last year' when the 2011 data still shows owned accommodation higher than rented accommodation (64 percent compared to 36 percent). To reach a higher band, the student should ensure all data trends are interpreted with complete precision and support all main comparisons more fully throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement and attempts a logical progression from the beginning of the period to the end, utilizing paragraph breaks to separate introduction, overview, and body details. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. Phrases such as 'At a fleeting glance' sound awkward and unnatural for academic task responses, and referencing is not always clear, particularly in transitional phrases between sentences. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs lacks seamless flow. To achieve a higher standard, the writer needs to employ a wider and more natural range of cohesive devices without relying on clunky introductory clichés, ensuring that ideas are linked smoothly and logically from one sentence to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'callibrated', 'percentage', and 'accommodation'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('accomodation', 'callibrated', 'thier') and instances of imprecise word choice and collocation, such as 'how many households were owned and rented accomodation' and 'rose in the percentage of owned accomodation with 10% respectively'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they reflect limitations in lexical control. To move up to a higher band, the writer must expand their control of spelling and use more precise vocabulary and collocations to describe statistical trends and graphical data accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, though control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, articles, and prepositions inside grammatical patterns, such as 'most of the people were lived in rented houses', 'individuals were lived in thier own houses', and 'there was change in the percentage'. Punctuation is also occasionally faulty. These errors mean that the majority of sentences are not error-free, placing the writing firmly in the lower-intermediate range for grammatical accuracy. To improve, the student needs to focus on mastering basic verb structures, eliminating passive voice misuse with intransitive verbs, and enhancing control over complex sentence patterns.

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

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