Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-08
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 charts illustrate the ownership of electrical appliances in one country between 1920 and 2019 and they also shows the amount of time consumed every week on housework per household.
Overall, first chart shows the higher amount of ownership for refrigerators which raised continuously from the beginning time whereas the minimum ownership recorded for washing machines which did not shows more growth, however the vacuum cleaner ownership also shows great growth till 2019. In second chart, the housework hours per week recorded continuous decline in this time period.
Initially, vacuum cleaner ownership started from only 30% in 1920 and reached 100% in 2000 and still maintained its position after 19 years followed by refrigerator ownership, it was almost zero in 1920 but it grew in higher speed than any other appliance and reached to 100% in 1980 and it is still holding this position in 2019. However, washing machines started from 40% and only reached around 71% till 2019.
By contrast, the housework per household declined including washing clothes, preparing meals and cleaning items etc. which was at 50 hours per week in 1920 but now its reduced to only 10 hours in 2019
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by summarizing the trends for both appliance ownership and housework hours. Key features are identified, such as the rise in refrigerator and vacuum cleaner ownership and the decline in housework time. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For example, the comparison between the appliances could be more nuanced; while you mention the refrigerator grew faster, you could have highlighted the specific crossover points or the plateauing of trends more effectively. The overview is present but lacks a clear synthesis of the relationship between the two charts, which is a key requirement for a high band score in Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Initially', 'By contrast', and 'however', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'in this time period' or the repetitive use of 'it' to refer to different subjects. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the internal structure of the sentences could be improved to ensure a smoother flow between the data points presented.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing for a basic description of trends (e.g., 'continuous decline', 'reached', 'maintained its position'). However, the range is limited and there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'raised continuously' (should be 'rose') and 'did not shows more growth' (should be 'did not show'). There is little evidence of less common lexical items or sophisticated phrasing that would elevate the response to a higher band. The repetition of basic verbs like 'show' and 'reached' also limits the lexical variety.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that detract from the quality of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('they also shows', 'did not shows'), incorrect verb forms ('it was almost zero... but it grew in higher speed'), and punctuation errors, such as missing commas in complex sentences. These errors occur throughout the text. While they do not impede communication, they indicate a lack of control over more complex grammatical structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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