Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The line graph illustrates the employment proportion in three diverse sectors, which included the public sector, private sector and self-employed people in Great Britain from 2000 to 2010.

Overall, it is evident that the public sector and self-employed workers increased over the period. In contrast, the private sector fell continuously. Meanwhile, the public sector recorded the highest figure for employment, whereas self-employed people had the lowest proportion throughout the period.

Looking at the more details, the public sector grew from 38% in the first year, then rose sharply from 40% to around 50% in 2005, before reaching approximately 57% by the end of the period. Similarly, the proportion of self-employed people grew from 18% in the initial year to reach 20% after two years. Then, it reached 18% in 2004 before increasing to around 30% in the final year.

In contrast, the private sector fell continuously from over 48% in the first year to 40% in 2003, then decreased dramatically to reach the bottom at about just 20% in 2010.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for a summary of electrical appliance ownership and housework time between 1920 and 2019, but the student has written about employment sectors in Great Britain from 2000 to 2010. Because the student failed to address the actual task requirements and data provided, the task achievement score is significantly impacted. While the structure of the essay mimics an IELTS Task 1 response, the content is entirely irrelevant to the prompt provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is well-structured with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The use of cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Meanwhile', and 'Similarly' is effective and helps the flow of the text. Paragraphing is logical and appropriate for a report. Despite the content being irrelevant to the prompt, the internal organization and logical progression of the ideas presented are clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a report, such as 'illustrates', 'proportion', 'increased', 'decreased dramatically', and 'reached the bottom'. The word choice is generally precise and fits the context of describing trends in data. There are no significant spelling errors, and the vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly, even though the subject matter is incorrect.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student uses a variety of sentence structures, including complex sentences with subordinate clauses (e.g., 'The line graph illustrates the employment proportion in three diverse sectors, which included...'). Grammar is generally accurate, with correct use of tenses for past data and appropriate prepositional usage. Errors are rare and do not impede communication. The control over punctuation and sentence construction is consistent with a higher band level.

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

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