Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-03

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 6.0)

This pie charts compare the rate of time working adults spent on different activities in a particular country in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, adults spend the majority of their time each day working. While personal and social activities tend to decline beyond 50 years.

In 1958, the predominant time-consuming activity for adults was work, accounting for 33% of their day. This percentage surged to 42% in 2008, indicates the substantial rise in the rate of time adults spent on work over a period of 20 years from 1958 to 2008. Concurrently, the time allocated to pursuing interests or engaging in sports experienced a modest increase from 6% to 8% between the two years. Moreover, time spent on travel to work saw a substantial rise, which quadrupled from 2% in 1958 to 8% in 2008. Similarly, the proportion of time dedicated to relaxing at home rose from 8% in 1958 to 13% in 2008.

Conversely, the time spent on sleeping saw a minor decrease from 32% in 1958 to 25% in 2008. Furthermore, the time spent on socializing or spending time with friends and family notably declined from 19% in 1958 to merely 6% in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all key features of the charts and makes relevant comparisons. You successfully identified the main trends, such as the increase in work time and the decrease in sleep. However, there is a significant factual error in your analysis: you state the period is '20 years' when the charts clearly show 1958 to 2008, which is a 50-year span. Additionally, the second sentence of your overview mentions 'beyond 50 years,' which is irrelevant information not supported by the data provided. To improve, ensure you accurately calculate time spans and stick strictly to the data presented in the diagrams.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'Conversely,' 'Similarly,' and 'Furthermore' to link ideas effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the trends. However, the connection between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The overview is slightly disjointed, and the second sentence is confusingly placed. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the use of referencing is generally accurate, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'predominant,' 'accounting for,' 'surged,' and 'concurrently.' This allows for some precision in describing the data. There are a few minor inaccuracies, such as 'rate of time,' which is slightly unnatural; 'proportion of time' or 'amount of time' would be more appropriate. You also use 'indicates' incorrectly in the sentence 'indicates the substantial rise,' which should be 'indicating.' Despite these minor slips, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the intended meaning clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as the subject-verb agreement issue in the first sentence ('This pie charts compare' should be 'These pie charts compare'). The phrase 'indicates the substantial rise' is a fragment that lacks a proper subject. While these errors are present, they do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and avoiding sentence fragments. Your control of punctuation is generally good, and the overall structure of the sentences is clear.

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

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