Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-12

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)

cambridge writing task 1

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The line charts represents the information about ownership of electrical machines such as washing machine, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner and also reveals the number of hours spend on housework in the years between 1920 and 2019.

It is clear from the first diagram that usage of vacuum cleaner was constantly increased since the year 1920 and reached the 100% in households. Likewise, there was significant growth shown in refrigerator which was lowest in 1920 but, reached the pick point in 1980 and remain steady after that. In the year between 1920 and 1960, there was slow rise shown in washing machine but it fell gradually and bottom off after 1980 with over 60%.

A number of hours was too high in the 1920 as per week but it starts decrease rapidly until 1980 and then after reduced gradually and reach the bottom with 10 hours.

Overall, there is growth shown in all given electrical appliances and housework hours are fell.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the charts, identifying the trends for appliance ownership and the decline in housework hours. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For example, the description of the washing machine trend is inaccurate; the text states it 'fell gradually and bottom off after 1980', whereas the chart shows a steady increase. Additionally, the data points are not always precise, and the comparison between the two charts could be more explicitly linked. While the main trends are identified, the lack of accuracy in reporting the data and the limited development of comparisons prevent a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for the appliances and hours, and a brief overview. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Likewise', 'Overall', and 'In the year between', which help guide the reader. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. For instance, the transition between the appliance trends and the housework hours is abrupt. The use of paragraphing is sufficient, but the overall flow could be improved with more sophisticated linking phrases to connect the two distinct datasets more effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'reached the pick point' (peak point) and 'bottom off' (bottomed out). The student relies on basic descriptive language like 'growth shown' and 'slow rise'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general meaning, there is little attempt to use less common or more sophisticated lexical items. To improve, the student should focus on accurate collocations and more varied reporting verbs.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'The line charts represents' (subject-verb agreement), 'usage of vacuum cleaner' (missing article), and 'housework hours are fell' (incorrect passive voice). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the misuse of verb tenses and articles is persistent. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors indicates a lack of control over more complex grammatical structures, limiting the score to the 5.5–6.0 range.

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