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)

The line chart illustrates the variations that took place in owning electric machines and the number of hours spent between the years 1920 and 2019 in doing house chores in residencies in one nation.

Overall, it is evident that out of all the three, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner showed a significant increase in their usage and demonstrated the highest proportion of percentage in 2019 of around 95 percent, while washing machine was the only appliance that started as the dominant appliance, however ended up from the having the highest to the lowest percentage in 2019. Another line chart displays the numbers of hours spent doing housework that showed a downward trend after 1920.

Washing machine started off with 40 percent in the year 1920 and showed an upward trend to about 60 percent in 1940. It continued rising until after 1960 where it displayed a slight decline from 70 percent to around 65 percent. Refrigerator usage begun from zero percent but showed a massive resurgence after 1920 to around 95 percent in 2019. On the other hand, vacuum cleaner showed a similar trend by beginning from the lowest 30 percent in 1920 but reaching the same percentage as refrigerator of around 95 percent.

In comparison, in 1920, washing machine was dominant in all the three machines, consequently Fridge and vacuum cleaner replaced it and illustrated the highest use in 2019. The number of hours that people took to perform chores were 50 hours per week, that started declining to around 15 hours per week in 1980. it remained steady between the years 1980 and 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all key features of the charts, including the trends for appliance ownership and the decline in housework hours. You successfully identified the main trends and made relevant comparisons between the appliances. However, there is a factual error in your summary: you stated the washing machine ended up as the lowest percentage, but the chart shows it remained at approximately 70 percent, which is not the lowest. Additionally, the description of the washing machine's trend is slightly inaccurate regarding the 1960s data. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are interpreted with absolute precision and that comparisons are logically sound.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In comparison', and 'On the other hand' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is slightly unbalanced, and some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between the description of the appliances and the housework hours could be smoother. Ensure that each paragraph has a clear focus to improve the overall progression of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'variations', 'dominant', 'resurgence', and 'proportion'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'residencies' instead of 'households' and 'out of all the three' which is slightly awkward. While you attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary, some collocations are not entirely natural. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that your word choices are contextually appropriate for describing statistical data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the having the highest' and 'the number of hours that people took to perform chores were 50 hours'. There are also issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for small errors in articles and verb forms to improve your accuracy.

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

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