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 charts illustrate the changes in ownership of electric appliances and the amount of time spent on household chores in one country between 1920 and 2019. The percentages vary at different points.

Overall, in electric appliance households, the percentages of these three components fluctuate. In per-week households, the percentage first decreased, then remained stable. Vacuum cleaners have the highest percentage. Washing machines have the lowest percentage.

Firstly, the percentage of households with electric appliances between 1920 and 1960 increased for all these components. Subsequently, these fluctuated. Between 1980 and 2019, washing machines gradually decreased, then partially increased. Two other components grew, then remained constant.

Secondly, the number of hours of housework per week also had three categories. Washing clothes, preparing meals, and cleaning. Between 1920 and 1960, all these components fell, while between 1980 and 2019 these remained stable. These show the comparison with washing machines in electric appliance households.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad relationship between appliance ownership and housework time, and you note that appliance ownership generally rose while housework hours fell. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: the appliance figures do not all fluctuate, and washing-machine ownership rises overall despite a dip around 1980. The claim that vacuum cleaners have the highest percentage is not true throughout the period; refrigerators reach 100% earlier, while both are at 100% later. The housework series is also misinterpreted as having “three categories,” when these are activities defined in the chart note, not separate data series. To make the summary more complete, report key comparisons and figures, including the sharp rise in refrigerator ownership and the fall in weekly housework from about 50 to 11 hours.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and separate paragraphs for the two charts. Sequencing words such as “Firstly” and “Secondly” help signal the shift between topics. However, progression within the overview is unclear: “in electric appliance households” and “in per-week households” do not clearly identify the chart measures, and the statements about highest and lowest percentages are not tied to a particular year or trend. The final sentence, “These show the comparison with washing machines,” does not explain what is being compared. Some linking is mechanical, and the paragraph about housework repeats the chart’s activity labels rather than developing a clear comparison. Use direct references to each measure and organise details by trend.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “percentages,” “increased,” “decreased,” “remained stable” and “housework,” so the main topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, which makes some information difficult to interpret. “Electric appliance households” does not clearly mean the proportion of households owning appliances, while “per-week households” is not an appropriate description of hours. Calling the chart’s measures “three categories” also confuses the activities listed in the note with the data series. Aim for precise chart language and avoid repeating “components”; name the appliance or measure directly. More accurate collocations, such as “ownership of refrigerators” and “hours of housework per household,” would make the account clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You produce several understandable simple sentences and attempt longer structures, for example, “Between 1920 and 1960, all these components fell, while between 1980 and 2019 these remained stable.” This shows some ability to connect clauses, but the range is limited and some sentence patterns are incomplete or awkward. “Secondly, the number of hours of housework per week also had three categories” is followed by the fragment “Washing clothes, preparing meals, and cleaning,” rather than a complete sentence. In “Between 1980 and 2019, washing machines gradually decreased,” the subject is the appliance rather than its ownership percentage. Use complete clauses and make the measured quantity the grammatical subject, such as “the proportion of households owning washing machines.”

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

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