Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 chart is giving information on the number of houses that own electrical appliances in one specific country between 1920 and 2019 along with the number of hours of housework per week.

Overall, the line chart is divided into three different categories. The refrigerators and vacuum cleaners got significant gain as household appliances. In contrast, washing machines just fluctuate and also got a slighter gain between 1920 and 2019. In addition, the number of hours of housework per week faced a big decline over the mean time.

Moreover, the number of refrigerators and vaccum cleaners as household appliances were relatively low in 1920 and over the time both the appliances did great and sees such gain that they both ended up at around 100%. On the other hand, the washing machines were at 40% in 1920 and with the passage of time they go through a little up and down and ended up at more than 40% in 2019.

Furthermore, the number of hours of housework per week were at 50% in 2019 which was a good percentage but due to some reasons they were not able to maintain that number and ended up at 10% in 2019.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad patterns: refrigerator and vacuum-cleaner ownership rose, while housework time fell. However, the report only partially selects and reports the key information, and some details are inaccurate or unclear. The final paragraph says housework was “at 50% in 2019,” although 50 refers to hours in 1920; it then gives 10% for 2019, rather than approximately 11 hours. The appliance overview also misses important distinctions: refrigerators reached 100% by 1980, vacuum cleaners by 2000, while washing-machine ownership dipped around 1980 before rising. Develop the overview with these comparisons and report the housework figures in hours, not percentages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the trends. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Moreover,” and “Furthermore” help signal the stages of the report. However, the progression is weakened by repetition of the same general rise-and-fall points and by unclear references, especially “they were not able to maintain that number,” where “they” does not clearly identify what is being discussed. The final paragraph also combines a mistaken starting point and endpoint, making the comparison difficult to follow. Group the appliance details more systematically, then describe the housework trend with its correct start and end values.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of trend vocabulary, including “significant gain,” “fluctuate,” “decline,” and “ended up,” so the main direction of change is usually understandable. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing chart data: “the line chart is divided into three different categories,” “did great,” and “faced a big decline over the mean time.” “Number of houses” is also less accurate than “percentage of households,” and “vaccum” is misspelled. Aim for precise data-reporting collocations and avoid conversational expressions. For example, describe ownership as “rose substantially” or “remained relatively stable,” and refer to housework time as “hours per week.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including longer sentences with contrast markers such as “In contrast” and “On the other hand.” The meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors reduce precision. For example, “the number of hours … were” has subject–verb disagreement; “the refrigerators and vacuum cleaners … got significant gain” has an awkward article and number pattern; and “they both … sees such gain” shifts incorrectly between plural subject and verb form. The sentence about housework also uses “were at 50% in 2019,” creating an unclear time and measurement relationship. Check agreement, maintain consistent past-tense forms, and use clear sentence structures when reporting figures.

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