Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-07

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 ratio of owned and rented houses in two countries from 1918 and 2011. Data is presented in percentage.

Overall, households in rented accomodation witnessed a dawnward trend. Whereas, famillies in owned accommodation shows an upward trend, except equal amount in one year.

In the first year, households in rented residence reached the peak of almost 80%. Followed by same percentage in two years 1939, and 1953 accounted for nearly 70%. Another dip marked in 1961 just under 60%. Despite 1971 which was equality value between the two years made up 50%, the renting pattern consistently decreased in 1981, 1991, and 2001 with approximatelly 40%, 32%, and 31%, respectively. the famillies in rented houses recovered in the last year arround 35%.

In contrast, households in owned residence experienced deacreasing pattern. In 1918, started with just over 20%, and the percentage continously climbed surpassing 40% in 1961. Moreover, the similar ratio in the middle year the owned accommodations slightly rose reaching the highest point of almost 70% in 2001. Ultimately, the amount of households in owned accommodation dipped to just under 65% in 2011.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast and broad movement: renting declines overall while ownership rises, and you include the shared 50% figure in 1971 and the reversal in 2011. Most reported values are close to the chart. However, the overview is weakened by saying ownership rises “except equal amount in one year,” which is unclear, and the later description incorrectly calls ownership a “decreasing pattern” before describing its rise. The opening also says “two countries,” although the chart covers England and Wales together. To make the summary more complete and precise, state clearly that renting was higher until both reached 50% in 1971, ownership then became dominant, and both series changed direction slightly by 2011.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing renting and ownership. The chronological details are generally easy to follow, and words such as “In contrast” and “Ultimately” help signal relationships. However, progression is sometimes disrupted by unclear or incomplete phrasing, including “Followed by same percentage in two years 1939, and 1953” and “Despite 1971 which was equality value between the two years.” The overview’s “Whereas” is also left as a fragment, and the lowercase “the” after a full stop weakens presentation. Use complete sentences and clearer links between the overview and the detailed comparisons; avoid connectors that do not fit the sentence structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of trend vocabulary, including “peak,” “dip,” “decreased,” “climbed,” “surpassing,” and “dipped,” which helps describe changes across the period. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this chart: “ratio” is less suitable than “percentage,” “dawnward trend” is not the intended expression, and “families” does not precisely refer to the chart’s household measure. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “accomodation,” “famillies,” “approximatelly,” and “deacreasing.” These errors do not prevent the overall meaning from being understood, but they reduce precision and control. Prefer standard chart language and check spelling carefully, especially for repeated key terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including a contrast with “In contrast” and a relative clause in “which was equality value.” However, a number of sentences are incomplete or have faulty structure, such as “Followed by same percentage in two years 1939, and 1953” and “In 1918, started with just over 20%.” There are also problems with agreement and verb forms: “families … shows” should use a plural verb, while “households … experienced decreasing pattern” needs a more complete grammatical construction. The fragment beginning “Whereas” and the punctuation around “Despite 1971” also make relationships difficult to follow. Build each comparison around a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and sentence boundaries.

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.