Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-21

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 graphs illustrate how the percentage of households owning three specific electrical appliances changed between 1920 and 2019, alongside the corresponding time spent on weekly housework in a single country. Overall, the ownership of all three electrical appliances increased dramatically over the century, with refrigerators seeing the most rapid growth. Concurrently, the amount of time households while in spent on domestic chores experienced a substantial and steady decline. Regarding appliance ownership, refrigerators started at 10% in 1920 but surged rapidly to 90% by 1960, reaching full saturation 100 by 1980 and remaining there.

Similarly, vacuum cleaners rose steadily from 30% in 1920 to hit 100% by 2000. then in 2019 the amount of appliances increased at onces and In contrast, washing machines showed a more fluctuating trend; ownership rose from 40% in 1920 to 70% in 1960, dipped slightly to 64% in 1980, and finished at approximately 74% in 2019. As these appliances became more common there used also got increases

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad trends accurately: appliance ownership generally rose, while weekly housework declined, and you compare the different appliance patterns. Several figures are close to the chart, including the washing-machine rise and slight dip. However, the account is incomplete: it gives no figures or stages for housework, despite this being a major part of the task, and the final sentence does not clearly report its decline. The refrigerator figure for 1920 is also reported as 10% rather than about 2%, and the claim that appliances increased “at once” in 2019 is unsupported. To make the summary more complete, report the housework fall from about 50 to 11 hours and select key milestones for each series.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response begins with an introduction and an overview, then moves to appliance details, so there is some recognisable organisation. However, progression becomes difficult to follow in the second half. The sentence beginning “then in 2019” is unclear and interrupts the vacuum-cleaner description, while “As these appliances became more common there used also got increases” does not communicate a clear relationship or conclusion. The housework trend is introduced in the overview but is not developed in a separate, coherent section. Use one paragraph for the overview, then group the appliance comparisons and housework figures logically, with clear links such as “By contrast” and “Meanwhile.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some suitable task vocabulary, including “ownership,” “surged,” “full saturation,” and “fluctuating trend,” which helps describe changes. However, several word choices or phrases are inaccurate or unclear, such as “the amount of appliances increased at onces” and “there used also got increases.” “Full saturation 100” is also an awkward way to express the figure. These errors make parts of the report difficult to understand and limit the precision of the vocabulary. Aim for standard chart language and accurate collocations, for example, “the proportion of households owning vacuum cleaners reached 100%” and “housework hours declined.” Check spelling and phrasing before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There are attempts at complex sentences, including the opening sentence and the overview beginning “Overall,” but control is inconsistent. The phrase “the amount of time households while in spent” contains a disrupted word order, and “As these appliances became more common there used also got increases” is not grammatically complete or clear. Sentence boundaries and capitalisation also need attention: “then” follows a full stop but is not capitalised, and the run-on sequence around “100% by 2000. then in 2019” weakens accuracy. Some simpler clauses, such as “ownership rose from 40% in 1920,” are clearer. Build accuracy by using complete subject–verb clauses and checking punctuation between sentences.

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