Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-10

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 illustrates the proportion of families in owned and rented house in England and wales from 1918 to 2011.

Overall, the propotion households in owned accommodation follwed an upward trend over the peroid of time, whereas households in rented accommodation showed an downward, despite slight fluctuation.

Familes who live in an own house, around 80% people lived in an owned accommodation in 1918, recorded the far high figure and slightly decreased and levelled off at approxmately 70% in 1939 and 1953. gradually declined to just below 60% in 1971 and 50% in 1971, followed downward trend untill 2001 and remained at 31% before rising to above 35% in 2011.

Familes in rented households, starting off at slightly above 20% in 1918 and marginally increased to 31% in and this figure sharply rose to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the two categories and gives a broad overview of opposite trends, which is relevant to the chart. However, the account is substantially inaccurate and incomplete: ownership began at about 23%, not 80%, and renting began at about 77%, not just above 20%. The description also confuses the later figures and repeats 1971, while the final sentence stops before reporting the rental trend. As a result, the main comparisons are not reliably conveyed. The response also falls 15 words short of the required minimum. To improve, check each series against the chart, describe the crossover at 50% in 1971, and complete the account through 2011.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs intended to describe each accommodation type. The overview’s contrast between an upward ownership trend and a downward rental trend gives the reader a useful organising idea. However, progression is weakened by the inaccurate and repeated dates in the ownership paragraph, and the rental paragraph ends mid-sentence (“this figure sharply rose to”), leaving the comparison unfinished. Some linking is attempted with “whereas,” “and,” and “before,” but the sequence of changes is not consistently clear. Organise the details chronologically, use one paragraph for each series or compare them by period, and ensure every paragraph reaches a complete point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportion,” “upward trend,” “levelled off,” and “slightly increased,” so it can communicate the general subject and direction of change. However, spelling errors and awkward or inaccurate combinations are frequent enough to affect clarity: “propotion,” “follwed,” and “Familes” recur, while “families in owned and rented house” is not a natural description of the chart’s categories. “Far high figure” is also imprecise. Aim for accurate chart language such as “the proportion of households,” “peaked at,” and “declined to.” Proofreading spelling and choosing standard collocations would make the limited vocabulary more effective and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple statements and longer sentences with time clauses, for example, “Overall, … whereas …” and “gradually declined … before rising.” These attempts show some range, but control is inconsistent. The opening phrase “Familes who live in an own house” does not form a clear grammatical sentence, and the next sentence has an unclear subject and faulty structure: “around 80% people lived … recorded the far high figure.” Articles and noun forms are also problematic, as in “an downward,” and the final sentence is incomplete. Use a clear subject and verb for each trend, maintain past tense for the historical data, and check articles and sentence boundaries.

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