Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-07-26
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The pie charts below show how working adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
* Note: these aren’t the original diagrams given in the test, they were recreated for the purpose of demonstration.
Student answer (Band 7.5)
The pie charts compare the activities of working adults in a specific country in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, the time distribution changed over the years, but working holds by far the highest percentage of the day. In 1958 people had more time to spend going out with friends or family, which reduced greatly in 2008, instead people started to spend more time by relaxing at home.
In 1958, people used to work 33% of a day on average, while in 2008 people spent about 42% of a day in working. The time reserved for going out with friends or family dropped dramatically from 19% in 1958 to 6% in 2008. People spent 6 % of their time in playing sports previously, which increased slightly in recent years and became 7%. Travelling to work used to take a negligible amount of time of a day, around 2%. In 2008, this figure rose to 7%. People had more time for their sleep, as they slept around 32% of a day back then, but had about 25% in 2008. In recent times, people like to spend a significant amount of time by relaxing at home than before, which becomes evident from the rise in the portion from 8% in 1958 to 13% in 2008
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.0 |
| Overall | 7.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
The response effectively covers all requirements of the task. You have successfully identified the main trends, such as the increase in working hours and the decline in time spent with family. The data is accurately reported, and you have made relevant comparisons between the two years. To reach a higher band, ensure that the overview is more distinct and analytical. While you mention that 'working holds by far the highest percentage', you could further synthesize the data by grouping categories that increased versus those that decreased, providing a more cohesive summary of the overall shift in lifestyle over the 50-year period.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group the data effectively. You use cohesive devices such as 'while', 'in contrast', and 'this figure rose to' to connect ideas. However, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. Additionally, some sentences feel slightly mechanical in their structure. To improve, try to vary your cohesive devices further and ensure that the progression of ideas flows more naturally between sentences, rather than relying on a list-like reporting style for each data point.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.0
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'time distribution', 'negligible amount', and 'dramatically' are used appropriately. However, there are some minor issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'working holds by far the highest percentage' (which could be 'work accounts for the largest proportion') and 'spent more time by relaxing' (which should be 'spent more time relaxing'). Expanding your range of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' and focusing on more precise collocations would help elevate your score in this criterion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. Most of your sentences are clear and error-free, though there are occasional slips, such as 'in playing sports' (should be 'playing sports') and 'than before, which becomes evident' (which would be better as 'than before, as evidenced by'). Your control of tense is generally good, maintaining consistency when discussing historical data. To achieve a higher band, aim for more complex sentence structures, such as using participle clauses or more varied subordinate clauses to improve the flow and sophistication of your writing.
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