Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-22

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)

Two line charts illustrate the fluctuations in ownership of electrical appliances named as washing machine, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner, and the timeframe spent doing housework in households in one country between 1920 to 2019.

Overall, variations of washing machine remained least than the others appliances, and percentages of vaccum cleaner and refrigerator had highest ratios in the last year. The trends of the number of hours of housework per week dropped in the entire span of the time.

In 1920, washing machine had 40% of households, then climbed at 70% in 1960, furthermore this trend fluctuated and reached at roughly 85% in 2019. In 1920, vacuum cleaner and refrigerator had 30% and 40% respectively, then these both continued rose and reached at highest point of 100% in 2019.

In 1920, number of hours of houswork per week were 50. This number had dropped significantly over the period and stooped down at 10% in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both charts and making relevant comparisons. An overview is provided, noting the upward trends in appliance ownership and the downward trend in housework hours. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific data points. For instance, the student states that the refrigerator started at 40% in 1920, whereas the chart shows it at roughly 2%. Similarly, the housework hours are stated to have dropped to 10% in 2019, but the chart uses hours per week (reaching around 11 hours). Despite these data misreadings, the key trends are identified, which places the response securely in Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is structured into four distinct paragraphs, presenting a clear overall arrangement. Introduction, overview, and body paragraphs follow a logical progression. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or faulty. Phrases like 'furthermore this trend fluctuated and reached at roughly 85%' and 'then these both continued rose' show awkward linking and transitional control. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'variations of washing machine remained least than the others appliances'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and distinct body topics, satisfying the criteria for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts less common vocabulary with varying degrees of success. Items such as 'fluctuations', 'ownership', and 'percentages' are used adequately. However, there are several lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'timeframe spent' instead of 'time spent', 'least than' instead of 'the lowest', and 'stooped down' instead of 'dropped' or 'declined'. Word formation errors also occur, such as 'vaccum' (spelling) and 'houswork' (spelling). The range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message, but noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation prevent a higher score, matching Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures often contain errors. Examples of faulty grammar include 'reached at roughly 85%' (incorrect preposition usage), 'continued rose' (incorrect verb form following a verb), and 'number of hours of houswork per week were 50' (subject-verb agreement error with 'number of hours'). Prepositional and tense errors are frequent, although they rarely impede overall communication. The control over grammar is somewhat inconsistent, which is characteristic of the Band 5.0 to 5.5 descriptors; given the frequency of errors in complex structures, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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