Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-10
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 5.5)
Time management is always an issue when you become an adult. You became more energetic and responsible in this period of life. The pie charts showed a comparison of day spending patterns of adults in two different timelines. One is 1958 and the other is 2008. In 1958, adults spent 33% of their day in working but in 2008, the working schedule has been increased to 42% which showed the more interest of modern generations in the work. The adults in 1958, spent 19 percent of their time going out with friends and famil while in 2008, it reduced to 6 percent only. The sleeping habbits has also been changed a bit as adults in early timeline are giving 32% of their time to sleep while the modern ones are sleeping for 25% of the time of their day. Traveling of adults in 2008 has increased to 7% in comparison to 2% in 1958.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the pie charts and makes relevant comparisons between 1958 and 2008. However, the overview is missing; a summary should highlight the most significant trends, such as the increase in work and travel versus the decrease in leisure and sleep. The inclusion of personal commentary in the introduction, such as 'Time management is always an issue when you become an adult,' is irrelevant to the task and should be avoided. While the data is generally accurate, the analysis could be more sophisticated by grouping categories or identifying broader shifts rather than simply listing percentages for each item.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organised into a single block of text, which lacks clear paragraphing. A standard IELTS report should have an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs to separate different trends. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'in comparison to' and 'while', but the flow is somewhat mechanical. The transition between the introduction and the data analysis is abrupt. To improve, you should use clear paragraph breaks to separate the overview from the detailed data points and ensure that each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the data to improve the logical progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of awkward phrasing or incorrect word choices, such as 'day spending patterns' instead of 'daily time allocation' and 'modern ones' to refer to people in 2008. Additionally, there are minor spelling errors like 'famil' and 'habbits'. To reach a higher band, you should use more precise academic vocabulary, such as 'proportion', 'expenditure of time', or 'significant shift', and ensure that your spelling is accurate throughout the response.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. For example, 'the working schedule has been increased' is passive and slightly unnatural; 'the working hours increased' would be better. There are also tense inconsistencies, such as 'the pie charts showed' (past) followed by 'the working schedule has been increased' (present perfect). Subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'sleeping habbits has also been changed', also occur. Focusing on consistent tense usage and subject-verb agreement will significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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