Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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)

cambridge writing task 1

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The given chart illustrate that the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country between 1920 and 2019.

The chart displays the percentage of the household with electrical appliances from [redacted phone].

The other chart shows the specific hours of housework per week per household.

The first chart shows that in the year 1920 the percentage of ownership of refrigerator is completely zero but it rises with the passage of time as we can see the ownership extended to 50 percent in the year 1940 and in the year 1960 its ownership grows to 90 percent .In 1980 it rapidly goes to 100 percent of successful ownership and this ratio remains constant to year 2019.

The other item is vaccum cleaner in 1920 the item accuqires 30 percent ownership as we see its ownership increases every year and it touches the hieghts of 100 percent ratio of ownership in 2000 and remains same in the year 2019.

As we can see clearly the washing machine is the item which have very less ownerships over the given years its has 30 percent of ownership in the 1920 and it rises over the year 1960.But its percentage decreases a bit in 1980 and again grows in the year 2000 and its final percentage in 2019 grows to almost 75 percent.

The amount of time spent on housework per week showed a dramatic decline over the 99-year period.

In 1920, households spent the highest amount of time on chores, averaging 50 hours per week.

Over the next 40 years, this figure dropped sharply by more than half, reaching 20 hours in 1960.

Between 1980 and 2000, the time spent remained relatively stable and constant at 15 hours per week.

: By 2019, the housework duration reached its lowest point at approximately 11 to 12 hours weekly.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both charts and identify the main overall pattern: appliance ownership generally increased while weekly housework declined. Several key figures and trends are reported accurately, including refrigerators reaching 100% by 1980, vacuum cleaners reaching full ownership by 2000, and housework falling from 50 to about 11 hours. However, some details are inaccurate: refrigerator ownership was about 2%, not zero, in 1920, and washing-machine ownership was 40%, not 30%, that year. The claim that washing machines had the “very less” ownership is also misleading, since they began above vacuum cleaners and remained around 65–75% later. The overview is implied rather than clearly stated, and comparisons between appliances are limited; these features are less fully developed than the individual descriptions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a generally understandable sequence: it introduces the charts, describes the appliances, and then turns to housework. Paragraphing helps separate the two subjects, and time markers such as “In 1920,” “Between 1980 and 2000,” and “By 2019” make the chronology clear. However, the opening repeats the task description across three sentences instead of giving a concise overview, and the appliance discussion reads as separate item-by-item accounts rather than a connected comparison. Linking phrases such as “The other item” and “As we can see clearly” are repetitive or imprecise. The isolated colon before the final sentence also interrupts the flow. Grouping the main trends and using clearer transitions would create stronger progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “dramatic decline,” “dropped sharply,” “remained relatively stable,” and “reaching its lowest point.” These choices communicate the broad patterns effectively. However, several word choices and collocations are unnatural or inaccurate, such as “successful ownership,” “ownership extended,” “touches the hieghts,” and “the item acquires 30 percent ownership.” Repetition of “ownership” and “year” also limits flexibility, while spelling errors such as “vaccum” and “hieghts” reduce accuracy. Aim for standard chart language—for example, appliances “were owned by” a proportion of households, or ownership “rose to” a percentage—and check spelling carefully. This would make the vocabulary more precise and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the trends remain understandable. For example, the sentence beginning “Between 1980 and 2000” clearly reports a stable period, while the longer sentence about washing-machine ownership attempts to show a rise, dip, and recovery. Some grammatical errors nevertheless recur. The opening should be “The given charts illustrate,” and “the percentage of households” is needed rather than “the percentage of the household.” Agreement is also inconsistent in “the item which have” and “its has.” Several sentences run together without appropriate spacing or punctuation, particularly around “90 percent .In 1980.” Use consistent plural forms, articles, and sentence boundaries, and proofread agreement and punctuation to improve control.

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