Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-07
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 two-line graphs illustrate the percentage of households with three electrical appliances like washing machine, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner and the weekly time spent on housework in one country between the 1920 to 2019.
Overall, the ownership of all three appliances increased significantly with refrigerators showing the fastest growth from the lowest starting point. The time spent on weekly housework showed the opposite trend, dropping continually as more technology was developed.
In 1920, washing machines were the most common appliance at 40% and ending at approximately 75% in 2019. While refrigerators stood at 0%. However, refrigerator ownership increases fast and reaching at 100% by 1980. Vacuum cleaner also grew fast from 30% in 1920 and 100% in 2000.
The time spent on weekly housework decreased sharply from 50 hours in 1920 to just 20 hours in 1960. This drop continued slowly for the next few years, finally reaching a low of around 11 hours per week by 2019.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all key features of the charts, including the trends for appliance ownership and the inverse trend for housework time. You successfully identified the main features and made relevant comparisons, such as noting the refrigerator's rapid growth and the overall decline in housework hours. However, the report could be improved by providing more precise data points for the 1920 starting figures and ensuring the comparison between the two graphs is more explicit. The overview is clear and effectively summarizes the main trends, which is a strength of your response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is logically organized into four paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on the two distinct datasets. The progression of ideas is clear. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Overall,' 'While,' and 'However,' to link ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the use of 'While' at the start of a sentence followed by 'However' in the next creates a slightly disjointed flow. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall cohesion of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrate,' 'significantly,' 'continually,' and 'inverse trend.' There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'refrigerator ownership increases fast' (should be 'increased rapidly') and 'reaching at 100%' (should be 'reaching 100%'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication and precision required for a higher band score. Focusing on more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing will help improve this score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and prepositions, such as 'between the 1920 to 2019' (should be 'between 1920 and 2019') and 'refrigerator ownership increases fast' (should be 'increased rapidly'). Additionally, there is a sentence fragment: 'While refrigerators stood at 0%.' Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the text, and the errors do not significantly impede communication. To reach a higher band, you should focus on consistent tense usage and refining complex sentence structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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