Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-26
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 chart illustrates the ownership changes of different electrical appliances and how much time people spent doing household chores in a country between year's 1920 and 2019.
Starting from the year 1920 number of Individuals, owning refrigerator's were on a steep rise till the year 1980 and became constant onwards upto 2019. On the other hand the trend of washing machines was on a steady rise up to the year of 1960 with, a slight down trend visible till 1980. Additionally, the vaccume cleaners were purchased in huge amount's, starting from the year 1920 ownership increased sharply upto 1980 and then became steady for the next 20 years before becoming constant till 2019.
As, with the advancements in technology people became more lazy and sluggish so with the passage of time a steep decline in the trend is witnessed which is evidently visible that people spent less time on household chores in the year 1920 and the trend continued to decline sharply till 1960 and became a steady stall upto the year 2019.
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 trends for all three appliances and the housework time. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For example, you mention the trends for refrigerators and vacuum cleaners but do not provide specific data points (percentages or hours) to support your descriptions, which is essential for a high band score. Additionally, the interpretation that people became 'lazy and sluggish' is subjective and inappropriate for an Academic Task 1 report, which requires an objective summary of the data provided. To improve, focus on reporting the figures accurately and avoid adding personal opinions or external interpretations not supported by the charts.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into three paragraphs, which is a logical structure. You use some cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'Additionally', and 'As, with the advancements'. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and punctuation errors, such as the comma usage in 'with, a slight down trend'. The transition between the appliance data and the housework data is abrupt. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more smoothly throughout the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing like 'steep rise' and 'steady'. There are also several errors in word formation and usage, such as 'year's 1920' (should be 'the years 1920'), 'vaccume' (spelling error), and 'amount's' (incorrect pluralization). The phrase 'steady stall' is also an unnatural collocation. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise reporting verbs and nouns, and ensure you are using standard English spelling and pluralization rules.
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 the reader. Common issues include incorrect punctuation (e.g., 'As, with the advancements'), unnecessary apostrophes in plurals like 'refrigerator's' and 'amount's', and missing articles. The sentence 'it is evidently visible that people spent less time...' is also grammatically clunky. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and punctuation rules to improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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