Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-22

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)

The pie chart show percentages how working adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working adults perform different activities but their is a little fluctuation in 2008. The working time increased and sleeping time decreased in 2008, while relaxing at home increased by five folds in 2008. Outing with friends also reduced and travelling to work increased by five folds.

In 1958, 33% of adults spent their day working while in 2008 it increased by 42%.

In 1958, 32% of working adults passed their day time in sleeping and 8% relaxing at home while it reduced to 25% and relaxation increased to 13% in 2008.

In 1958, 2% of adults travelled for work purposes while 19% spent time by going out with family and friends. Meanwhile, travelling to work increased by five folds (7%), and outing with family and friends reduced to 6%. Percentage of working adults playing sports remain almost the same with a little change and become 7% in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response provides a clear overview and identifies key trends, such as the increase in working time and the decrease in sleeping time. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, you state that working time increased 'by 42%', whereas the chart shows an increase from 33% to 42% (a 9 percentage point increase). Similarly, you mention 'five folds' for relaxing at home and travelling to work, which is mathematically incorrect based on the provided figures. While the main features are highlighted, the lack of precision in data interpretation prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures. While some cohesive devices like 'Meanwhile' and 'Overall' are used, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but the connection between the 1958 and 2008 data points could be smoother to better highlight the comparisons requested in the prompt.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fluctuation', 'purposes', and 'percentage'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'passed their day time in sleeping' (instead of 'spent their time sleeping') and 'outing with friends' (which is slightly informal). The repetition of 'increased by five folds' is also a lexical limitation. To improve, focus on using more precise verbs and nouns to describe statistical changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The pie chart show', 'their is a little fluctuation') and incorrect preposition usage. Additionally, the phrasing 'become 7% in 2008' is grammatically awkward. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall clarity of the report. Increasing the variety of error-free complex sentences would help raise your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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