Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

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 charts beneath show the proportion of eloctronic product owners and time invested in house-chores per-week, in a particular country in the time frame of almost a century.

Overall, refrigerators have attained a gradual increae over the time period. While, washing machines have gone through some fluctations. Meanwhile, time spent on house hold work had experienced a gradual decrease over the time period.

At first glance, it can be clearly seen that, proportion of refrigerators had increased gradually over the time period. It grew to 100 percent around 1980 and remained constant till the end of the graph. Similarly, vacuum cleaners were in 30 percent of households initially. This figure gradually increased to 100 percent in 2000 which countined to remain same till the end of graph.

Washing machines were in 40 percent households in 1920. While experiencing few fluctuations, it graducally increased from 1980 till the end of the graph. In the beginning it was as high as 50 hours per week in the beginning, which decreased to around 15 percent in 1980. The number oscillated for 20 years between 1980 and 2000. At the end of graph it dipped to around 10 hours per week.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by covering both appliance ownership and hours of housework, and it provides an overview. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and uneven. For instance, the discussion of washing machines and housework hours is combined into a single concluding paragraph rather than being fully integrated or clearly structured. Certain details, such as the peak and subsequent drop in washing machine ownership, are touched upon briefly, but the overall reporting lacks a fully extended comparative overview. To move up to the next band, all trends need to be more fully developed with clearer highlights of the key comparisons across the entire time frame, avoiding any under-developed or compressed sections.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a general attempt at logical organisation, and the response uses a basic paragraph structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, the overall progression is sometimes hampered by mechanical or abrupt transitions, such as starting paragraphs with repetitive phrases like 'At first glance, it can be clearly seen that'. Referencing and cohesive devices are occasionally faulty, and the grouping of information is disjointed—for example, mixing the details of washing machines and housework hours in the final paragraph. To achieve a higher band, you should ensure that paragraphs are organised around clear thematic groups and that cohesive devices connect ideas smoothly without mechanical repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'proportion', 'gradual increase', and 'fluctuations'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('eloctronic', 'increae', 'fluctations', 'countined', 'graducally') and awkward phrasing like 'electronic product owners' instead of appliance ownership. These errors stem from lexical and spelling slips rather than grammar, and while they do not entirely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score. To reach a higher level, you need to expand your vocabulary range, use precise collocations related to data trends, and eliminate spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'While experiencing few fluctuations, it graducally increased...'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with prepositions and modifiers ('per-week', 'in 40 percent households', 'around 15 percent' when referring to hours instead of a percentage). While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, they are persistent enough to cap the grammatical score. To advance to the next band, you should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over prepositions, articles, and numerical units.

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

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