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 two line charts illustrate the percentage of households with three electrical appliances and the number of hours per week of housework in households in one country between 1920 and 2019.

Overall, it is observed that the changes in ownership surged for refrigerator and vacuum cleaner with equal proportion, whereas washing machine displays the least percentage of households during this period.

In 1920, the highest percentage of households was washing machine with 40%, followed at vacuum cleaner with 30% and then the lowest households percentage was refrigerator around 1%. After two decades, the percentage of refrigerator significantly rose to 55% before reaching to 90% in 1960. Similarly, both the percentage of washing machine and vacuum cleaner has increased and meet at 70% during this period.

Furthermore, after 1960 the proportion of refrigerator and vacuum cleaner has been fluctuating and point to the same percentage of approx 100% by 2000. Similarly, the percentage of washing machine has fluctuated and reached to 70% again.

By 2020, the percentage of household with washing machine was lowest in proportion as compared with other two. The number of hours of housework per week per household has decreased from 50% to 10% over this period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall rise in appliance ownership and the decline in housework, and include several relevant figures, such as refrigerators reaching 90% in 1960 and washing machines and vacuum cleaners both reaching 70%. However, the overview is not fully accurate: refrigerator and vacuum cleaner ownership did not rise in equal proportion, and washing machines were not consistently the least common appliance. The account also omits the housework trend from the overview and gives little detail about its intermediate changes. Some later figures are imprecise: refrigerator and vacuum cleaner ownership reached 100% at different times, in 1980 and 2000 respectively, rather than both by 2000. The final year is 2019, and housework fell from 50 to 11 hours, not from 50% to 10%. Select and compare the main trends more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the appliance data, followed by a final comment on housework. Time markers such as “In 1920,” “After two decades,” and “By 2020” help signal sequence. However, the progression is weakened because the housework series is left until the final sentence, rather than being integrated into a clear comparison with appliance ownership. The overview also makes a broad claim that is not supported by the details, and “Similarly” is repeated to connect points that are not always parallel. Group the appliance trends together, give the housework trend its own developed comparison, and use linking expressions only where the relationship between ideas is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “proportion,” “surged,” “fluctuating,” and “decreased,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts to avoid repetition by varying terms for the data. However, some word combinations are unnatural or imprecise, such as “highest percentage of households was washing machine,” “meet at 70%,” and “point to the same percentage.” “Surged” overstates the gradual rise in some series, while “fluctuating” is not an accurate description of the refrigerator and vacuum cleaner trends after 1960. Use standard chart language such as “the proportion owning,” “rose to,” “levelled off,” and “reached the same figure.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “whereas” and “before,” and most of the intended meaning can be followed. However, errors in sentence structure and agreement recur. For example, “the highest percentage of households was washing machine” needs a clearer grammatical construction, and “the percentage … has increased” should agree with the plural subjects when referring to two appliances. The past-tense reporting also shifts inconsistently into present perfect forms, as in “has been fluctuating,” despite the chart ending in 2019. There are problems with articles and prepositions in phrases such as “followed at vacuum cleaner” and “reaching to 90%.” Practise accurate past-tense comparisons and check subject–verb agreement and sentence patterns.

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