Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05
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 following chart illustrates the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of money spent by households in one country and numbers of hours of housework between 1920 and 2019.
Overall, the first chart gives us information about the increase in the usage of electrical appliances such as washing machine, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner in homes from 1920 to 2019 whereas the second chart tells us about the ratio of numbers of work hours in a week which are now decreased from 50 to 10.
The first chart shows us the ratio of increase in the usage of electrical appliances from 1920 to 2019. In 1920, there was no concept of refrigerator but 30% to 40% people were using washing machine and vacuum cleaner. But after the launching of refrigerator in 1940, 51% people used it and then in 1980, almost 100% people had refrigerators in their houses. The amount of vacuum cleaner users were 90% and 65% for washing machine users. And in 2019, the amount of vacuum cleaner and refrigerator users was 100% and the amount of washing machine users was 75%.
The second chart is telling us about the decrement in the number of working hours every week from 1920 to 2019. In 1920, households work for 50 hours every week. But then, it eventually start decreasing. And today, there is only a work of 10 hour sper week.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main parts of the visual data, noting the general upward trend in appliance ownership and the downward trend in housework hours. However, there is a factual inaccuracy in the introduction, where the student claims the charts show 'amount of money spent' rather than ownership percentage. Additionally, some data points are misread or loosely reported, such as stating there was 'no concept of refrigerator' in 1920 (the graph shows 2%) and misinterpreting the 1940 figure. The information provided is somewhat repetitive and under-developed in places, presenting key features rather mechanically without fully synthesizing the overall picture, which keeps the response at this level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on the two charts. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'The first chart', and 'In 1920'. However, referencing and transitions are at times mechanical or repetitive, with sentences frequently starting with 'The first chart shows' or 'The second chart is telling'. Paragraphing is present and logically separates the visual elements, contributing to a readable structure, though the flow between sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with appropriate topic-specific terms such as 'electrical appliances', 'washing machine', 'refrigerator', and 'vacuum cleaner'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary and synonyms like 'decrement' and 'ratio', but these are occasionally used inaccurately or unnaturally in context (e.g., 'ratio of numbers of work hours' or 'amount of vacuum cleaner users'). There are also minor lexical and collocational slips ('start decreasing' instead of 'started decreasing', 'work of 10 hour sper week'), but these do not seriously impede communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as 'whereas the second chart tells us' and 'after the launching of refrigerator'. However, there are frequent errors in verb forms, tenses, article usage, and plurals. Examples include 'amount of money spent... and numbers of hours', '51% people used it', 'The amount of vacuum cleaner users were', and 'households work for 50 hours... start decreasing'. Punctuation and subject-verb agreement show lapses throughout the text, though the errors rarely impede the overall meaning of the report.
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