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 line graph compares the changes in ownership of electronic appliances and time spent on housework in households in one country in between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, the usage of refrigerator and vacuum cleaner increased significantly over the period of time, while the use of laundry machines remain fluctuated over the time. The number of hours spent on housework per week decreased considerably in between 1920 and 2019.

First of all, In 1920, the percentage of households with refrigerator were 0, which increased to 55% in 1940, followed by it reached around 90-100% between 1960 and 2019. Similarly, the proportion of households owning a vacuum cleaner stood at 30% in 1920 and increased steadily to 50% in 1940. it then rose further to around 70% in 1960,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by attempting to outline the trends in appliance ownership and housework hours, and it provides an overview with some key features identified. However, the summary is incomplete due to the response cutting off mid-sentence, which leaves key data points and the final part of the chart unaddressed. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met as the text falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum. To achieve a higher band, the student must complete the response, present a fully developed overview of all data sets, and ensure all required word count minimums are met.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical structure with an introduction and an attempt at an overview, followed by initial body paragraphs. However, overall progression is hindered by the abrupt truncation of the text. Cohesive devices are used in a somewhat mechanical or repetitive way, such as 'First of all' and 'followed by it reached', which weakens the flow of information. Paragraphing is also disrupted because the text ends prematurely before the analysis can be properly concluded. Improving overall cohesion requires a more natural variety of linking words and a well-structured progression from introduction to body and conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, with acceptable attempts at reporting trends using words like 'increased significantly', 'fluctuated', and 'considerably'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'usage of refrigerator' (missing an article), 'laundry machines' instead of washing machines, and the strange phrasing 'followed by it reached'. Spelling and word choice are generally clear enough not to impede basic communication, but the range remains limited. To improve, the student should incorporate a wider variety of precise phrasing and ensure accurate collocations when describing statistical data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues like 'the percentage of households with refrigerator were 0' (should be 'was' and singular appliance needs an article or plural form), and awkward prepositional usage like 'in between 1920 and 2019' instead of simply 'between'. Punctuation and capitalization errors also appear, such as starting a sentence with a lowercase letter ('it then rose further'). While these errors do not completely obscure the intended meaning, their frequency pulls the grammar score down.

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

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