Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-01

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 former line graph illustrates the changes in the possessions of washing machines, refrigerators and vacuum cleaner, in percentage between 1920 and 2019. Whereas, the latter one represents the time, in hours per week, taken by accomplishing the household chores in a country from 1920 to 2019.

The possession of refrigerators increased drammatically to 90% over the earlier decades till 1960. After that, the progress slows down but stll increased to 100% which is constant till 2019. Moreover, ownership of vacuum cleaners showed an increase from 30% to 90% till 1980. Then it slowed down but still achieved 100%. On the other hand, washing machines followed an increasing trend to 70% in 1960. After that, there is a decline to 64% in 1980. However, it was successful to make a progress upto 75%.

Conversely, there is a regular deckline in the working hours from 50 to 20 during the years 1920 and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two charts and report several relevant trends, including the refrigerator rise to 90% by 1960 and 100% thereafter, the vacuum-cleaner increase, and the washing-machine dip around 1980. However, the response does not provide a clear overall summary of the main patterns, and the housework chart is left largely unreported: the final sentence stops after “during the years 1920 and” and gives no account of the later decline or endpoint. Some appliance figures are also imprecise, such as saying refrigerators reached 90% “over the earlier decades” without the earlier 2% and 55% stages. A concise overview comparing appliance ownership’s general rise with falling housework hours, followed by complete coverage of both charts, would make the response more fully address the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an introduction, a paragraph describing appliance ownership, and a final attempt to discuss housework hours. Linking expressions such as “After that,” “Moreover,” and “On the other hand” help signal changes between trends. However, the progression is incomplete because the final paragraph ends mid-sentence, and there is no concluding overview to bring the two charts together. “Whereas” at the start of the introduction is also used awkwardly, while “Conversely” does not clearly connect the unfinished final point to the preceding details. Organise the report into a brief overview and two complete detail sections, and use links only where the relationship between ideas is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of chart-related vocabulary, including “increased,” “decline,” “ownership,” and “constant,” so the main trends are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “illustrates” and “represents.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “possessions” is less suitable than “ownership,” “progress slows down” is vague for a data trend, and “successful to make a progress” is not idiomatic. Spelling errors such as “drammatically,” “stll,” and “deckline” are noticeable. Aim for precise reporting verbs and standard collocations, for example, “rose sharply,” “levelled off,” and “housework hours declined.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including contrast clauses and sentences with time expressions, as in “After that, the progress slows down…” and “On the other hand, washing machines followed…”. The meaning of most appliance trends can be followed. However, control is uneven: “Whereas” is used as a sentence opener without a complete contrasting clause, and the final sentence is incomplete. Tense use also shifts between past reporting (“followed”) and present (“there is a decline”), while “in percentage” and “increased … till 1960” show awkward grammatical patterns. Use the past tense consistently for the historical data, check that each sentence has a complete main clause, and practise accurate comparative and time expressions.

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