Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 graph illustrates the changes in ownership of electrical appliance and the amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country between 1920 and 2019.

To begin with, in 1920 washing machine was used at 40% of households which increased to 70% of households in 1960, which was slightly declined in 1980 to almost 63% of households, by 2019 nearly the usage of washing machine reach to 75% of households. The refrigerator was at least use in 1920 which skyrocket by 1960 at 90% of households and by 1980 to 2019 it remain at 100% of use in households. In 1920, the use of vacuum cleaner was 30% of households which dramatically increased over the period, followed by in 2000 it reaches to 100% of housholds and remain constant till 2019.

Moreover, in 1920 washing clothes, preparing meals and cleaning use to take the highest time at 50 hours per week which sharply decreased to 20 hours per week in 1960. From 1980 to 2000 nearly 15 hours of housework was done per week which gradually decreased to almost 10 hours per week.

Overall, refrigerator was least use frist but by end of year it was highest use in households while the number of hours of housework per week get dropped over the period of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to cover all parts of the visual data by discussing the trends for washing machines, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and housework hours. However, the response relies heavily on a mechanical, point-by-point listing of numbers rather than selecting and reporting the main features effectively. For example, writing 'washing machine was used at 40% of households which increased to 70%... slightly declined in 1980... reach to 75%' represents a mechanical transcription of individual data points. The overview provided in the final paragraph is somewhat simplistic ('refrigerator was least use frist but by end of year it was highest use...'), though it does capture the overarching trends. Overall, the task is addressed, but the lack of strong comparisons and synthesis keeps this at a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, which provides a basic structural framework including an introduction, body paragraphs for appliances and housework hours, and a brief overview. However, cohesion within sentences is frequently faulty and mechanical. Phrases like 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and run-on structures connected with commas ('...in 1960, which was slightly declined in 1980 to almost 63% of households, by 2019 nearly the usage...') disrupt the flow and logical progression of ideas. Referencing is also occasionally unclear. While paragraphing is attempted, the overall organizational control is inconsistent, placing it firmly at a Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, such as 'ownership', 'appliance', 'housework', and 'households'. However, there are numerous word choice and collocation errors throughout the text. For instance, 'appliance' is missing an 's' in the introduction, 'least use frist' contains spelling and grammatical errors, and phrases like 'reach to' or 'skyrocket by 1960 at 90%' demonstrate unnatural collocation and preposition usage. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and accuracy, preventing the response from reaching a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but these are frequently marred by structural errors. Run-on sentences and comma splices are a major issue, such as in the second paragraph where multiple clauses are strung together without proper coordination or punctuation ('...in 1960, which was slightly declined in 1980 to almost 63% of households, by 2019 nearly the usage of washing machine reach to 75% of households'). There are also frequent tense and verb-form inaccuracies, such as 'use to take' instead of 'used to take' and 'remain at 100%' instead of 'remained at 100%'. These errors cause occasional strain for the reader.

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

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