Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-18

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 graph illustrates the percentages of the households owned and the rented accommodations in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.

Overall, in the start contrast, the percentage of housholds owned had increased steadily while the percentage of rented accommodations had gradualy decreased over the entire period with exception of the last year. There was also percentage for both households system remained static for about 14 years.

The percentage of household owned had rose gradualy from 22% in 1918 to 32% in 1939, it remaine unchanged until 1953, after thet it climbed upto 68% by both 1991 and 2001 before marginaly decline to around 64 % in 2011.

The percentage of rented accommodations started at 77% in 1918, drop to 68% in 1939 and stayed at same in 1953. After that year it started decreasing steadily until 1991 at 32% and stayed same in 2001 also.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main opposing trends and give a relevant overview: ownership generally rose while renting fell, with a reversal in the final year. Several key figures are reported accurately, including the 1939–1953 plateau and the 2011 ownership figure. However, the overview says ownership increased steadily across the period, which overlooks the fall from 69% in 2001 to 64% in 2011; the final rise in renting to 36% is also omitted. The account ends before describing the full renting trend and does not clearly highlight the crossover at 50% in 1971. The response is four words below the required minimum. Include the final renting figure and compare the two categories at the crossover to make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing ownership and renting. This makes the main comparison easy to follow, and sequencing phrases such as “Overall,” “after that,” and “until 1991” help show changes over time. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical, however, and some references are unclear. For example, “There was also percentage for both households system remained static” does not clearly identify which figures stayed unchanged. The renting paragraph also stops at 2001, leaving the final year unconnected to the account. Improve progression by using precise references to the two categories and by ensuring each paragraph covers the full period.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant trend vocabulary, including “climbed,” “decreased,” “unchanged,” and “decline,” so the reader can understand the broad movements. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “households owned,” “rented accommodations,” and “in the start contrast.” Spelling errors, including “housholds,” “gradualy,” “remeine,” and “marginaly,” are noticeable and reduce precision. Use standard chart-reporting phrases such as “households in owner-occupied homes” and “the proportion of households renting,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would also help distinguish a plateau from a continuing trend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses linked with “while” and “after that,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in verb forms, articles, and sentence construction occur repeatedly. For example, “had rose” should be “rose” or “had risen,” while “it remaine unchanged” needs the past-tense form “remained.” The sentence “There was also percentage for both households system remained static” is structurally incomplete and difficult to interpret. There is also inconsistent control of singular and plural forms in phrases such as “the percentage of household owned.” Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build complete sentences around a clear subject and verb.

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.