Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-13
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 given polyline graphs provides the information in the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country from 1920 to 2019 and the whole is measured in percentage and hours.
As observed, the percentage of all households with electrical appliances showed an upward, while the inverse had been true with number of hours of housework per week, per household over the given period.
As per the data, In 1920, refrigerator was least in the list and after that it showed a growth of 100% between 1920 and 2000,quite a significant growth of100%. In 1920, vacuum cleaner was 30% but after that it showed a growth 70% and reached at 100% in 2019, quite a significant growth . In 1920, washing machine was 40% and after that it showed a growth of 33% and reached at 73% in 2019.
In 1920, the number of hours of house work per week was 50 hours but after that it showed a serious drop of 40 hours and reached at 10 hours per week in 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 | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully highlights the main features and makes relevant comparisons across both charts. The overview clearly identifies the general inverse trend between appliance ownership and housework hours over the 1920-2019 period. Key data points for specific appliances such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines are selected and reported accurately alongside the drop in housework hours. However, the explanation of percentage changes is slightly confused mathematically in places (e.g. stating a growth of 100% when starting from zero or a specific base, or describing a growth of 70% from 30% to reach 100%, which is mathematically a 70 percentage point increase rather than a 70% relative increase). Nonetheless, all parts of the prompt are addressed with relevant information, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged in a logical sequence, starting with an introductory overview paragraph followed by body paragraphs detailing appliance trends and housework hours respectively. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'As observed', 'As per the data', and 'after that', although some of these transitional phrases feel rather mechanical and repetitive ('after that' is used multiple times). Paragraphing is utilised adequately to separate the general trends from specific data descriptions. Referencing is generally clear, and although cohesion can be somewhat formulaic, the overall arrangement is coherent and easy to follow, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'ownership', 'electrical appliances', 'housework', 'percentage', and 'growth'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is noticeable repetition of phrases like 'showed a growth of' and 'reached at'. There are also minor lexical and collocational infelicities, such as writing 'polyline graphs provides' (subject-verb agreement error alongside basic terminology) and 'least in the list' rather than 'the least common appliance'. Despite these flaws, the vocabulary communicates the intended message clearly without impeding the reader, making it a strong Band 5.5 to 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'As observed, the percentage of all households with electrical appliances showed an upward, while the inverse had been true with number of hours...'. However, there are several noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('graphs provides'), missing articles ('with number of hours', 'refrigerator was least'), and awkward prepositions or verb forms ('reached at 100%'). Punctuation spacing is also occasionally faulty. These errors are frequent enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 6.0, settling securely at Band 5.0 due to the persistence of basic structural and agreement slips.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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