Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The pie charts illustrated the working adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, the working adults and sleeping adults were higher in percentages of the day in 1958 to 2008 as compared to other activities, which are lowest interest like playing sports, travelling, and going out with friends or family.
Firstly, the accounted for by the day spent by working adults was higher at 33%, twice as high as 42% in 2008. In addition, the sleeping adults constituted a high percentage, up to 32% in 1958, and marginally fell to 25% in 2008.
Furthermore, going out with family or friends was 19% in 1958 and slightly decreased to 6% in 2008, and travelling to work in 1958 is 2% and sharply increased up to 7% in the year of 2008, while relaxing at home was 8% in 1958 and 13% in 2008. However, the playing sports remain steady at all the years up to 7%.
In the summary, the sleeping adults and working adults are more represented in both years as compared to other activities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the task by identifying the main features of the pie charts. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, you state that working hours were 'twice as high as 42% in 2008', which is mathematically incorrect and confusing. Additionally, the overview is somewhat repetitive and lacks a clear synthesis of the trends. While you mention the main categories, the comparison between the two years could be more precise. To improve, ensure that your data points are accurately transcribed and that your overview highlights the most significant shifts rather than just listing categories.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore' to link ideas. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as the transition into the summary paragraph. Some sentences feel disjointed, and the referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when discussing the percentages. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would help achieve a higher score in this criterion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision required for a higher band. Phrases like 'sleeping adults' and 'working adults' are repetitive and slightly unnatural; it would be better to refer to 'time spent working' or 'time spent sleeping'. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'lowest interest', which does not accurately describe the data. To improve, try to use a wider range of synonyms and more precise collocations related to data description, such as 'accounted for', 'constituted', or 'remained stable'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'the accounted for by the day spent by working adults' is syntactically incorrect. There are also issues with verb tense consistency, such as 'the playing sports remain steady at all the years', where 'remained' would be more appropriate for past data. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors limits the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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