Band 8.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-07-27

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 8.5)

The pie charts compare how employed adults in a single nation allocated their daily time across various activities in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working and sleeping occupied the majority of adults' time in both years. Over the 50-year period, time spent working, travelling to work, and relaxing at home increased, whereas time devoted to sleeping and socializing with family and friends experienced significant declines.

In 1958, working accounted for 33% of the day, which grew to 42% by 2008. Relaxing at home also rose from 8% to 13%, while commuting increased modestly from 2% to 7%. Additionally, a new category, playing sports, emerged in 2008, taking up 7% of the daily schedule.

Conversely, sleeping saw a notable decrease from 32% in 1958 to 25% in 2008. Similarly, the proportion of time spent going out with friends and family dropped sharply from 19%—the third largest share in 1958—to just 6% 50 years later.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.5

The response effectively addresses all parts of the task. You have provided a clear overview of the main trends and supported these with accurate data from the charts. The comparison between 1958 and 2008 is well-integrated, and you successfully identified the key features, such as the emergence of the 'playing sports' category and the significant shifts in working and sleeping patterns. The information is logically selected and presented, meeting the requirements for a Band 8 performance by covering all aspects of the prompt well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.5

The response is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. You have used a standard structure: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs that group information effectively. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'whereas', 'conversely', and 'similarly' are used appropriately to link sentences and ideas. The paragraphing is logical and contributes to the overall readability of the report. The flow of information is smooth, and the relationship between the two years is clearly established throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.0

You have demonstrated a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a report on statistical data. Phrases like 'allocated their daily time', 'experienced significant declines', and 'accounted for' show a level of precision. There is a good use of less common items such as 'modestly', 'notably', and 'proportion'. The vocabulary is used accurately and naturally throughout the response. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate more sophisticated collocations or varied synonyms for 'increased' and 'decreased' to show even greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.5

The response displays a variety of complex structures, such as the use of participial phrases ('taking up 7% of the daily schedule') and subordinate clauses ('which grew to 42% by 2008'). The grammar is highly accurate, with no significant errors that impede communication. Punctuation is used correctly to manage the flow of information. The majority of your sentences are error-free, and you demonstrate good control over tense usage when comparing the two time periods. The level of accuracy is consistent throughout the piece.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.