Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-02

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 line charts illustrate the proportion of households with electrical appliances and the number of hours of housework from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, the majority of households have refrigerator and vacuum cleaner. In 1920 they use to wash clothes, prepare food and clean more than the other years.

To begin with the first line chart, the refrigerator is one of the most electrical appliances that households owned during the given period, which was under 10% in 1920 then, the figure showed a dramatic increase until it reached its peak in 1980 and remained steadily to 2019. Like wise, 30% of people have a vacuum cleaner in their houses on 1920, the proportion rose to 100% in 2000. Whereas, the figure of individuals who have a washing machine showed some fluctuation, it begin from 40% of the electrical appliance owners in 1920, increased to 70% in 1960, the number of owners reduced to approximately 60% in 1980 and increased again to more than 70% vacuum cleaner’s owner in 2019.

In the second line chart, households used to do their housework (washing clothes, preparing food and cleaning) 50 hours per week in 1920 which is the greatest number so far, this number reduced significantly to under 40 hours in 1940, 20 hours in 1960 and about 10 hours in 2019 which is the lowest amount of hours throughout the given period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task and provides a clear overview of the trends. You successfully identified the main features, such as the rise in appliance ownership and the decline in housework hours. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by some inaccurate reporting of data. For instance, you stated the refrigerator reached its peak in 1980 and remained steady, but the chart shows a slight decline after 1980. Additionally, the comparison of the washing machine data is confusingly phrased, specifically the reference to '70% vacuum cleaner’s owner'. Improving the precision of your data reporting and ensuring comparisons are clearly linked to the correct categories would elevate this response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Likewise', and 'Whereas' to connect ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly misused, such as 'Like wise' (which should be one word) and the awkward transition into the second chart. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal flow within the third paragraph is a bit disjointed due to the repetitive structure of the sentences. Strengthening the variety of your linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would improve the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'fluctuation', and 'significantly'. However, there are several instances of word choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'one of the most electrical appliances' (which should be 'one of the most common electrical appliances') and 'the figure of individuals who have a washing machine' (which is slightly unnatural). There are also minor errors in word formation, such as 'use to wash' instead of 'used to wash'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary is used accurately in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('the majority of households have refrigerator', 'it begin from 40%'), incorrect verb tenses ('they use to wash'), and punctuation errors. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and occur regularly. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring consistent verb tenses when describing historical data. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will also help you achieve a higher score.

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

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