Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-28

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 two line graph illustrates changes in households ownership with three appliances and the amount of time spent on housework per week per household.Overall,the ownership of all three appliances had increased with refrigerator and vacuum cleaner reached at 100% in 2019 while the time devoted to housework decreased dramatically.

In 1920,40% of household had a washing machine and 30% of vaccum cleaner whereas around 2% only refrigerator.By 1940,washing machine had risen to 60% and vaccum cleaner and refrigerator both are same at about 55-60%.The most striking growth was in refrigerator which surged to 90% in 1960 and 100% in 1980 and remains constant in [redacted phone] while vaccum cleaner followed to 70% in 1960 and 100% in 2000 and 2019.In contrast,washing machine was reaching its peak 70% in 1960 and dipped into 65% in 1980 and had rose to 75% in 2019.

The second graph shows a clear inverse relationship. The number of hours spent on household work including washing clothes, preparing meals and cleaning, fell from 50 hours per week to 35 hour in 1940 to 20 hours only in 1960.Then it declines slowly to 15 hours in [redacted phone] and 10-12 hour only in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The candidate has covered all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both charts and making relevant comparisons. The overview is clearly stated at the end of the first paragraph, capturing the main trends of increased appliance ownership and decreased housework hours. Key data points are selected and reported accurately, such as refrigerators reaching 100% by 1980 and housework hours falling from 50 to around 10-12 hours. However, some minor data inexactitudes occur, such as stating washing machines 'dipped into 65% in 1980' when the chart shows 65% in 1980, and occasional minor confusion over percentages in 1940. Overall, the response fulfils the requirements of Task 1 well, earning a band score of 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is logically organised into three paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by appliance ownership, and concluding with the time spent on housework. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas and guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'In 1920', 'By 1940', and 'In contrast'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two different graphs. However, referencing and cohesive links are occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive, and punctuation around conjunctions needs closer attention. Progression is clear throughout, making the report easy to follow, which justifies a band score of 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to data and household appliances like 'ownership', 'appliance', 'surged', 'constant', and 'inverse relationship'. There are some successful attempts at less common lexical items. However, there are noticeable word-formation and collocation errors, such as 'households ownership' instead of 'household ownership', 'vaccum' (spelling error for vacuum), and awkward phrasing like 'reaches at' or 'followed to 70%'. Word choice and spelling inaccuracies occur but do not impede communication. This performance aligns well with the descriptors for a band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The candidate uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative forms (e.g., 'The second graph shows a clear inverse relationship' and 'The most striking growth was in refrigerator which surged...'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout, such as missing articles ('was in refrigerator'), incorrect verb tenses ('had rose' instead of 'rose'), and spacing/punctuation omissions after commas. Despite these frequent errors, the structures used do not impede overall communication. The range and accuracy reflect a band 6.0 level.

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