Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-09

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 illustrate the schedule of the working individuals within a peculiar country about consuming their time between 1958 and 2008.

Overall, both pie charts includes the activities like working, relaxing at home, sleeping , travelling, hang out with friends or family and playing sports, although the major contribution in both phases is working, while minor one are travelling to work in 1958 and hang out with friends or family in 2008.

In 1958, major portions are covered by working, sleeping and going out with buddies about 33%, 32% and 19%, while the minor contributions like relaxation, travelling and sports are approximately 8%, 2% and 6%, consequently, in this ancient era the youth didn't face stressful time along with the hectic routine.

In 2008, the leading activities were working, sleeping and unwind at home almost 42%, 25% and 13%, on the other hand different tasks like travelling, sports and steeping out with friends or family covered the remaining portion about 7%, 7% and 6%, from the given criteria we conclude that in this modern phase tackled the hardest schedule along with the depression, anxiety even they don't have time for themselves despite the busiest days they can hardly take some rest and have enough hours to sleep. So this generation have more sense of responsibility.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the charts, but it fails to maintain an objective tone. The inclusion of personal opinions and external assumptions—such as claims about 'depression, anxiety' and 'hectic routines'—is inappropriate for an Academic Task 1 report, which requires a neutral summary of data. While the key trends are identified, the analysis is marred by these subjective interpretations, which are not supported by the provided data. To improve, focus strictly on reporting the percentages and comparing the shifts between 1958 and 2008 without adding personal commentary or sociological speculation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the phrase 'consequently, in this ancient era' is used incorrectly to link data to a subjective conclusion. The transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is somewhat abrupt. While there is a logical progression from the overview to the specific years, the internal cohesion within paragraphs is weakened by awkward phrasing and a lack of varied linking words. Improving the flow between sentences would significantly enhance the clarity of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary range is adequate for the task but lacks precision and academic tone. There are several instances of informal or inaccurate word choices, such as 'buddies' instead of 'friends', 'steeping out' (likely a typo for 'stepping out'), and 'peculiar country'. The use of 'ancient era' to describe 1958 is also stylistically inappropriate. While the student attempts to use a variety of terms, the inaccuracies in collocation and register limit the score. To reach a higher band, focus on using more formal, precise vocabulary suitable for describing statistical data, such as 'proportion', 'fluctuation', and 'significant shift'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('both pie charts includes'), incorrect verb forms ('unwind at home' instead of 'unwinding'), and awkward sentence construction ('from the given criteria we conclude that in this modern phase tackled the hardest schedule'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence structure and proofreading for basic agreement errors would be beneficial.

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

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