Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-13

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 graphs illustrate the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and the amount of time spent on housework in households in a country between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, the electrical appliances had significantly increased over the years, whilst the number of hours of households per week declined rapidly. Both the graphs depicts different changes.

During the year of 1920, new technologies such as washing machine, refrigerator, and vaccum cleaners emerged with a percentage of 40%, 0% and 30% respectively, all these electrical appliances had a gradual increase in households especially Refregirator, peaking at 100% in the year 1980, while vaccum cleaner peaked at 100% but after 20 years. On the other Washing machine had increased only up to 30% over the 100 years.

The number of hours of housework per week in an household had decreased due to the emergence of the electrical appliances. Initially started at rate of 50 hours per week during 1920, by 2019 it had came down to 10 hours per week.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify both charts and give a relevant overview: appliance ownership generally rose, while housework hours fell. You also report several key figures, including the refrigerator reaching 100% in 1980 and the vacuum cleaner reaching full ownership later. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the refrigerator began at about 2%, not 0%, and washing-machine ownership rose by about 35 percentage points overall, rather than 30%. The claim that appliances caused the decline in housework is not demonstrated by the charts, which show a relationship but not a cause. The second chart is also under-reported: include the intermediate falls from 50 to 35, then 20 and 15 hours, and note the final figure of about 11.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and separate discussion of appliance ownership and housework. This helps the reader follow the main topics. However, progression within the appliance paragraph is uneven: several series and time points are compressed into one long sentence, and the phrase “On the other” does not clearly connect the washing-machine comparison. “Both the graphs depicts different changes” adds little and interrupts the overview. The housework paragraph gives only the starting and ending figures, so the trend is not developed across the period. Use clearer comparisons and link each sentence to a specific trend or time point to make the organisation more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “ownership,” “electrical appliances,” “peaking,” and “declined,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise, including “the number of hours of households,” “peaked” for a series that reaches a maximum and then remains level, and “emerged” to describe appliances already present in 1920. Spelling errors in “vaccum” and “Refregirator” are noticeable, and “new technologies” is not an accurate description of the chart’s data. Aim for precise trend language and check spelling: for example, describe ownership as “rose” or “increased,” and say that a figure “reached 100%” rather than implying it later fell.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “whilst” and a time clause beginning “During the year of 1920.” However, errors are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to follow. For example, “Both the graphs depicts” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the number of hours of households” and “in an household” show problems with grammatical patterns and articles. The sentence beginning “Initially started at rate” is incomplete, and “it had came down” uses an incorrect verb form. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and review agreement, articles and past participles. More accurate control of these forms would make your comparisons easier to understand.

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

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