Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-19

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 line graphs illustrates the variations in families having three distinct electrical appliances and the number of hours consumed in a week doing house chores in houses of a country from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, the use of electrical appliances in households increased significantly from 1920 to 2019. On the contrary, the total number of hours spent in a week on housework including washing clothes, preparing meals and cleaning declined considerably over the same period.

Starting from just 40% in 1920, the highest proportion of households used washing machines with a substantial increase till 1960 until it dropped to almost 65% in 1980 but showed massive resurgence in 2019 with a proportion of 65%. Vacuum cleaner showed similar upward trent with facing any decline over the same period startinf from just 30% usage in 19320 to soar dramatically in 2019 with 100% usage.

Refrigerator on the other hand showed the highest increase in overall usage starting from zero to 100 over the same per

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide a relevant overview, identifying the broad rise in appliance ownership and the decline in housework time. However, the report is incomplete and some key details are inaccurate or missing. For example, washing-machine ownership rises to about 70% in 2000 and 75% in 2019, not 65% in 2019; refrigerators begin at about 2%, rather than zero. The vacuum-cleaner trend is broadly right, but the account omits the housework figures and does not compare the appliances’ different paths in enough detail. The final sentence also breaks off before completing the refrigerator description. To strengthen the response, report the main stages and end values accurately, and include the steady fall in weekly housework hours.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing appliance ownership. The contrast marker “On the contrary” helps signal the overall relationship between the two measures, and “on the other hand” introduces another appliance. However, the progression is weakened because the housework trend is mentioned only in the overview and never developed with figures, while the final paragraph ends mid-sentence. Some linking is also awkward or unclear, as in “with a substantial increase till 1960 until it dropped.” Organise the details into clearer comparisons—for example, group refrigerators and vacuum cleaners, then describe washing machines alongside housework—and ensure each paragraph is complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You show an adequate range for describing trends, including “increased significantly,” “declined considerably,” “proportion,” and “soar dramatically.” These choices make the general direction of change understandable. There are also attempts at less common wording, but several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural: “hours consumed” does not collocate well with housework, “massive resurgence” overstates a modest rise, and “facing any decline” is not the intended phrase. Spelling errors such as “trent” and “startinf,” along with the mistyped year “19320,” reduce precision. Prefer standard chart language such as “the number of hours spent,” “rose slightly,” and “without declining,” and check spelling and year labels carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview contrast and clauses beginning “Starting from just 40%” and “On the other hand.” However, errors in sentence construction and agreement are frequent enough to make parts difficult to follow. The opening should be “The line graphs illustrate,” not “illustrates,” and “families having” is an awkward grammatical construction. In “with a substantial increase till 1960 until it dropped,” the clause structure is faulty, while “Vacuum cleaner showed” needs an article or plural subject. The final sentence is incomplete (“over the same per…”), leaving its grammar unresolved. Use complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and proofread agreement, articles, and clause boundaries.

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