Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-26

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 5.5)

The pie diagram despicts the how working adults spent their time in 1958 and 2008 in a particular nation.

Overall, most of the time working adults spent time on working in given years.

During 1958, mature individuals spent most of their time in working with 33 percent, followd by sleeping accounted with 32 percent. Adults spent time for relaxation was 8 percent, whereas, percentage of going out of with family was double of it 19 percent. While for playing sports they spent only 6 percent time. Mature individuals least time spent on travelling to work work only 2 percent.

Over the period in 2008, still adults used thier most of time for working regards with 42 percent. As compering to 1958 adults spent time for sleeping and going out with family is less in 2008 , 25 percent and 6 percent considerably. In 2008, adults spent more time in sleeping and travelling to work shows with 13 percent and 7 percent respectively. There only one percent change in percentage of playing sports from 6 percent to 7 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

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, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, the student states that in 2008, time spent sleeping was 25 percent, whereas the chart indicates 32 percent, and the claim that time spent going out with family was 6 percent is also incorrect based on the provided data. These factual errors undermine the accuracy of the summary. While the overview is present, the lack of precision in reporting the figures prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or awkward, such as 'As compering to 1958' and 'shows with 13 percent'. The progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by these awkward transitions. While there is a clear attempt at paragraphing, the internal cohesion within sentences is often weak, making the flow of information feel disjointed at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic phrasing such as 'spent their time' and 'mature individuals'. There are several instances of word-choice errors and non-standard collocations, such as 'despicts the how', 'accounted with', and 'regards with'. Spelling errors like 'followd', 'thier', and 'compering' also occur. To improve, the student needs to focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring correct spelling and collocations.

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 impede clarity. Examples include 'the pie diagram despicts the how working adults spent their time', 'Adults spent time for relaxation was 8 percent', and 'There only one percent change'. Subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction limits the score.

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

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