Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-19
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 shown perfectly depicts how technology significantly affected the people's lives. We can clearly see in the graph that the people who owned the electrical appliances spend less time doing housework.
The first graph shows that there was not an equal increase of ownership of all types of electrical appliances from 1920 to 2019. From 1940s to 1980s, more people bought the refrigerators while the ownership of vacuum cleaners among people has almost consistent increase in the span of 99 years from 1920 to 2019.
But, there was not much increase in the ownership of the washing machines.
In the second graph, we can clearly observe that there was a significant drop in the number of hours spent per week by the people to do housework. The relationship between both graphs shows that only two electronic appliances, refrigerator and vacuum cleaners, made the lives of people easy and the people who own these electrical appliances has more time for other things than doing housework.
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 the main features of the charts, but it lacks the necessary precision required for an Academic Task 1. While you identify the general trends, you fail to provide specific data points or percentages to support your observations. For instance, stating there was 'not much increase' in washing machine ownership is vague; you should cite the starting and ending figures. Additionally, the analysis of the relationship between the two graphs is somewhat speculative rather than data-driven. To improve, ensure you include key figures from the charts to substantiate your claims and avoid drawing conclusions that are not explicitly supported by the provided data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'The first graph shows' and 'In the second graph' are functional but basic. The transition between the description of appliances and the conclusion regarding housework time is a bit abrupt. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the progression of ideas flows more naturally between sentences and paragraphs rather than relying on simple signposting.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the sophistication and precision needed for a higher score. You use basic terms like 'made the lives of people easy' and 'not an equal increase'. There are also some minor collocation issues, such as 'almost consistent increase' instead of 'a relatively steady increase'. To improve, incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'plateaued', or 'a significant decline', and avoid overly informal phrasing. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and adverbs will help convey the data more effectively.
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 distract the reader. For example, 'The charts shown perfectly depicts' contains a subject-verb agreement error, and 'the people who own these electrical appliances has' should be 'have'. Additionally, there are issues with article usage, such as 'the people who owned the electrical appliances' (the 'the' is unnecessary here). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to limit the score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles to improve accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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