Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-15

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 6.5)

The pie charts compare how working adults in a specific country allocated their daily time across various activities in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working and sleeping accounted for the largest proportions of time in both years. While time spent working and commuting increased over the 50-year period, hours devoted to sleeping and socialising experienced a noticeable decline.

In 1958, working was the predominant activity, occupying 33% of adults' time, which rose to 42% in 2008. Similarly, travel to work saw a modest increase from 2% to 8%. Conversely, sleeping represented the second largest category in 1958 at 32%, but fell to 25% by 2008.

Regarding other leisure pursuits, time spent going out with friends and family dropped significantly from 19% to 6%. In contrast, relaxing at home increased from 13% to 17%, while participation in sports rose slightly from 1% to 4%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response provides a clear overview of the main trends shown in the pie charts, contrasting the changes between 1958 and 2008 successfully. Key features are selected and reported accurately, such as the increase in working hours and the decrease in sleeping and socialising time. However, there are a few minor numerical inaccuracies compared to the raw data; for instance, travel to work in 1958 is stated as 2% while the data shows 2%, but in 2008 it is stated as 8% (data shows 7%), and relaxing at home in 2008 is stated as 17% (data shows 13%). Furthermore, the length requirement is not met, as the response contains 142 words, falling short of the 150-word minimum. This results in a slight penalty to the Task Achievement score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is well-structured and easy to follow. It begins with a clear introductory sentence, followed by a concise overall summary paragraph that outlines the primary trends. The body paragraphs are logically organized, grouping related activities together and making appropriate comparisons between 1958 and 2008. Cohesive devices are used effectively and naturally, such as 'While time spent', 'Conversely', and 'In contrast', which ensures a smooth progression of ideas throughout the response. Paragraphing is also used appropriately.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary used throughout the response is adequate and appropriate for an academic task 1. The writer successfully employs a range of functional and precise terms to describe data trends, such as 'allocated', 'predominant activity', 'modest increase', and 'experience a noticeable decline'. While most word choices are accurate, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting (e.g., mixing up certain figures slightly as noted in task achievement), but the lexical range is sufficient to convey the information clearly and with some flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response demonstrates good control of a variety of sentence structures. The writer successfully combines simple and complex forms, utilizing subordinate clauses effectively (e.g., 'While time spent working and commuting increased over the 50-year period, hours devoted to sleeping and socialising experienced a noticeable decline'). Grammatical accuracy is generally high, with the majority of sentences being error-free. Punctuation is used correctly to separate clauses and items in a list, contributing to the overall readability of the text.

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

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