Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-06

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 given line chart illustrates changes in the ownership of electrical appliances and the amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country from 1920 to 2019.

In 1920, the number of hours per week per household was 50 hours.At that time refrigerators were not used at all whereas the Washing machine and vacuum cleaner used were 40 % and 30%, respectively. After two decades, in the year 1940, the number of hours per week per household fell by nearly 15 hours, reaching just over 30 hours. In contrast,the figure for refrigerator ownership rose to just over 50%, while the proportion of households with washing machines and vacuum cleaners ownership increased by 20%, reaching 60% and 50%, respectively.

After 4 decades,in the year 1980, the number of hours of housework per week, per household went down by 20 hours, reaching 15 hours. In contarst, the figure for refrigerator ownership was at the highest, at 100%, while the proportion of households with waching machines ownership slightly increased by 3% and vacuum cleaner rose by 40%, reaching exactly 90%. After nearly 4 decades, in the year 2019, the number of hours of housework per week, per household went down by 5 hours, reaching 10 hours. In contarst, the figure for refrigerator ownership and vacuum cleaner ownership were both at the top, reaching exactly 100%, while waching machine rose by 10%, reaching 73%.

To conclude, the number of hours of housework per week, per household decreased over the time and the percentage of households with electrical appliances such as washing machine, refrigerator and vacuum cleaner increased over the time period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by reporting the trends in appliance ownership and housework hours over the given period, providing a clear overview at the end. However, some aspects are unevenly developed or contain inaccuracies in the data cited. For instance, the student states that in 1920 refrigerators were not used at all, whereas the data shows a starting point of 2 percent. Furthermore, the final data point for washing machines in 2019 is reported as 73 percent or 75 percent inconsistently. While key features such as the overall inverse relationship between appliance ownership and housework hours are identified, the selection of data lacks precision in places, leading to an under-development of certain comparative features required for a higher level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a logical division into paragraphs, including an introductory statement, body paragraphs breaking down the timeline, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as "In contrast" and "After 4 decades" are used to sequence information across time. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is at times clumsy, such as the frequent repetition of phrase structures starting paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group information chronologically, yet the flow between sentences could be smoother with more varied transitional phrases to establish a clearer sense of progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic trends such as increases and decreases in percentages and hours. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but this is accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and word forms. Examples include typos and spelling slips like "waching" instead of washing and "contarst" instead of contrast. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they reflect a limited control over lexical precision and collocation, restricting the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms to describe the graphical data. There are attempts at subordinate clauses and comparative structures, but these are often marred by grammatical errors, particularly in prepositions and articles, such as omitting necessary articles or mismanaging relative clauses. Punctuation errors also occur, including missing spaces after full stops, as seen in "50 hours.At that time" and "decades,in the year". The frequency of these grammatical slips means that while meaning is generally communicated, the control over complex structures remains inconsistent.

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

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