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 illustrates how electrical appliances changed in ownership and amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country, over a period in 1920 and 2019.

Overall, it is evident that the proportion of households with electrical appliances increased over the period whereas the number of hours of housework showed decreased trend.

On the one hand, household percentage with electrical appliances such as washing machine, Refrigerator and Vacuum cleaned stood at 0%, 30% and 40% respectively in 1920. In addition Refrigerator and Vacuum cleaned showed a similar trend in 2000, accounted for 100%. Moreover, washing machine increased slowly over the period and reached approximately 75% in 2019.

On the other hand, The number of hours per week of housework stood at 50 hours in 1920. In 1960, the trend showed dramatically decreased at 20 hours. Moreover, The number of hours per week of housework decreased over the period in 2019, accounted for 10 hours.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response provides a clear overview of the trends and selects key features to illustrate the changes. However, the analysis is somewhat limited. While the trends for appliances are mentioned, the comparison between the two charts—specifically the inverse relationship between the rise in appliance ownership and the decline in housework hours—is not explicitly highlighted. The data points are generally accurate, but the description of the trends could be more precise. For instance, stating that the refrigerator and vacuum reached 100% in 2000 is a good use of data, but the overall summary could be more analytical to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs for each chart. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be smoother. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the connection between the two charts could be better integrated to improve the flow of the argument. Overall, the structure is sufficient for a coherent response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks sophistication. There are some errors in word choice and form, such as 'Vacuum cleaned' instead of 'vacuum cleaners' and 'showed decreased trend' instead of 'showed a decreasing trend'. The vocabulary is repetitive, relying heavily on basic verbs like 'increased' and 'decreased'. To improve, you should incorporate a wider variety of synonyms and more precise collocations related to data description, such as 'experienced a steady growth' or 'witnessed a sharp decline'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'The charts illustrates' (subject-verb agreement), 'over a period in 1920 and 2019' (preposition error), and 'the trend showed dramatically decreased' (incorrect verb form). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. More attention to subject-verb agreement and correct tense usage is required to improve accuracy.

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

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