Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-31

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 charts illustrate the modifications in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time spent doing homework in households in one country among 1920 and 2019.

Overall, it is clear that vacuum cleaner and refrigerator was the highest after some time. While washing machine fluctuating over the period.

In 1940, vacuum cleaner started 50% of usage in home chores, after 20 years it rose and reached at 70% in 1960. than after some it increased from 70% to 90% in 1980, at the end it rise at 100% in 2000 and 2019. In contrast, refrigerator was stood 55% in 1940 than after some time it shoot up and reached at 90% usage of electrical appliances in 1960 than it reached at 100% in 1980,2000,2019.

Regarding washing machine was 60% in 1940, than it slightly increased in 1960, of 65%. In 1980 it fall from 65%to around 62%.

In 2019, it reached 70% usage of electrical appliances which the lowest. Number of hours of homework starts 50 hours per week in 1920 then it decreased to 10 hours per week in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the charts, including the trends for appliances and the decline in housework hours. However, the analysis is somewhat mechanical and lacks a clear, integrated comparison between the two datasets. While the key trends are identified, the description of the data is occasionally inaccurate (e.g., stating the washing machine reached 70% in 2019 as the 'lowest' is confusing, as it was higher in previous decades). The overview is present but could be more effectively synthesised to highlight the inverse relationship between appliance ownership and housework time.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the information. However, the use of cohesive devices is often repetitive and sometimes misused (e.g., 'than after some', 'than it reached'). The progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed, particularly in the transition between the appliance data and the housework hours. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences feels mechanical rather than natural. Improved use of linking words and better paragraph structure would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'after some time' and 'reached at' are used frequently, which limits the range. There are also errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'homework' instead of 'housework' and 'usage of electrical appliances' being used redundantly. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use a wider variety of verbs to describe trends (e.g., 'soared', 'plummeted', 'stabilised') and avoid repeating the same phrasing throughout the report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb tense and preposition usage, such as 'vacuum cleaner started 50%', 'refrigerator was stood', and 'it rise at 100%'. Punctuation is also problematic, particularly with comma usage and run-on sentences. While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevent the response from reaching a higher band.

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

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