Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-20

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 charts show the changes in three electrical appliances in househlds and the hours of housework per week between 1920 and 2019 in one country.

overall, the ownerhip of washing machine, refigretor and vaccum cleaner all increased. t the same time, the time spent for housework decreased a lot.

in 1920, about 40% of households had washing machine and 30% had vacuum cleaner. Only about 2% had refrigator. In 1940, washing machines was still highest at around 60%, and vacuum and refrigrator were both about 50%.

By 1960, refrigator increased very fast and reached 100% of households. Vacuum cleaner also increased to about 80% and washing machine stayed around 75%, but refigrator and vacuum cleaner continued to grow to more than 100%? actually close to 100%. in 2019 almost all household had all three appliances, with refrigratr and vcuum cleaner at 100% and washing machine at about 99%.

so, more appliances means less time for housework.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad pattern that appliance ownership rose while housework time fell, and you include some relevant figures, such as 40% for washing machines and 30% for vacuum cleaners in 1920. However, the account is only partial and several key details are inaccurate or unclear. Refrigerators reached about 90% in 1960, not 100%; vacuum cleaners were about 70%, not 80%; and washing-machine ownership was around 65–75% in later years, not 99% in 2019. The response also omits the housework figures, which are central to the second chart, and the claim that more appliances mean less housework is not established as a direct cause by the data. Report the main trends accurately and compare the endpoints of both charts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic overall structure: an opening, a brief overview and a chronological account of appliance ownership. This helps the reader recognise the topic and the general direction of change. However, progression is uneven because the housework chart is mentioned only in the overview and then not described with figures or stages. The paragraph beginning “By 1960” also moves between years and appliances in a confusing way, while “so” introduces a conclusion that is not clearly supported by the preceding details. Use separate, logically ordered paragraphs for the overview and the main comparisons, and connect each chart’s changes explicitly. More precise referencing and transitions would make the account easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses a small set of relevant terms, including “households,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “reached,” so the general subject is understandable. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling errors affect key chart vocabulary: “househlds,” “ownerhip,” “refigretor,” and “vaccum.” Some phrasing is also imprecise, such as “the time spent for housework” and “more appliances means less time,” which sounds like a causal claim rather than a description of parallel trends. Aim for accurate spelling of the appliance names and use more precise reporting language, such as “the proportion of households owning…” and “weekly housework hours fell.” This would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the opening sentence communicates the topic. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, with frequent errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “washing machines was still highest” should use a plural verb, while “almost all household had” needs a plural noun and verb. The sentence beginning “By 1960” combines several comparisons in a way that becomes difficult to parse, and “so, more appliances means less time” has a faulty subject–verb relationship. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, including the lowercase “overall” and the fragment-like transition into the final claim. Build shorter, complete sentences first, then add accurate comparisons using controlled complex structures.

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