Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country between 1920 and 2019.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Percentage of households with electrical appliances (1920-2019)

Student answer (Band 5.5)

First line graph represents the proportion of households owning different electrical appliances in one country from the year 1920 to 2019. And the second line graph shows how the figure of hours of housework affected by the use of electrical appliances per week, per household during those years.

Overall, the proportion of households with Refrigerator was the lowest during 1920 which ended up in the highest proportion by the year 2019. In general, as the uses of electrical appliances rose from the year 1920 to 2019, the number of hours of housework per week went down.

It can be clearly observed in the first line graph that the percentage of households with Vacuum cleaner climbed dramatically from 30 percent in 1920 to 90 percent in the year 2019. This same increase was also seen in the proportion of households with Refrigerator from 5 percent in 1920 to 90 percent in the year of 1960. The proportion of household with the Washing machine and the Vacuum cleaner in 1960 were same as well as the percentage of households with Refrigerator and Vacuum cleaner during the year 2000.The percentage of household with Washing machine was initially higher compared to other electrical appliances in the year 1920 which ended up as the lowest in 2019 compared to other electrical appliances.

As shown in the second graph, the hours for housework were the highest during the year of 1920 when the use of electrical appliances were the lowest. This figure declined significantly from 50 hours in 1930 to 20 hours in 1960 per week with the rise in electrical appliances. The number of hours per week for housework went down slightly from 15 hours in 2000 to 10 hours in the year of 2019 which was the lowest due to the highest use of electrical appliances in that year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant comparisons between the two charts. You covered the rise in appliance ownership and the corresponding decline in housework hours. However, there are some inaccuracies in your data reporting. For instance, you state the refrigerator reached 90% in 1960, whereas the graph shows it reaching that level closer to 2000. Additionally, your description of the washing machine trend is slightly confusing; it was not the lowest in 2019, as the graph shows it at a higher percentage than the vacuum cleaner. To reach a higher band, ensure your data extraction is precise and avoid contradictory statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In general', 'It can be clearly observed', and 'As shown in the second graph' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the phrase 'This same increase was also seen' when comparing different appliances. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the transition between the data points could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'dramatically', and 'declined significantly'. However, there is some repetition of phrases like 'percentage of households' and 'electrical appliances'. To improve, try to vary your vocabulary by using synonyms or different sentence structures to refer to the data. There are occasional minor errors in word choice, such as 'how the figure of hours of housework affected by', which is slightly awkward. Expanding your range of collocations would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'the uses of electrical appliances rose' (should be 'the use'), 'the percentage of household with Washing machine were same' (missing articles and subject-verb agreement), and 'the use of electrical appliances were the lowest' (should be 'was'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some missing spaces after periods. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles when referring to specific appliances.

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.