Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-17

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 chart illustrates the proportion of days spent by working adults on various activities such as travelling, going out with friends/family, sleeping, playing sports and relaxing at home. This chartrepresents the activities of two different years, such as 1958 and 2008. The units are measured in percentage.

Overall, the proportion of the working adults who spent time working was the highest in this chart. The least number of people spent time travelling to work in 1958. In general, adults spend less time travelling to work in both years.

Now turning to the details, the proportion of adults spending time working increased significantly by 42% in 2008. At the same time, spent time in travelling to work plummeted to 7%. The proportion of the modest time spent in going out with friends/family was 6% in 2008. The percentage of adults who spent time sleeping was the highest, 25%, in 1958, while the percentage who were relaxing at home was the lowest, 8%, at the same time.

As an overall trend, the proportion of adults who chose time spent in travelling to work was only 2% in 1958. In comparison, the percentage of adults who spent time working had a significant growth to 33% in 1958, while the time spent travelling was only 2% at the same time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers the main features of both pie charts, successfully reporting data for 1958 and 2008 such as the highest proportion going to working and sleeping. However, there are notable inaccuracies in the data reporting and interpretation. For example, the writer states that the proportion of adults spending time working 'increased significantly by 42% in 2008', which misinterprets 42% as the amount of increase rather than the total percentage in that year. Additionally, some comparisons are confused or repeated awkwardly towards the end of the response. Because the key features are generally identified but marred by data misinterpretation and somewhat confused detailing, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into clear paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. There is an attempt at overall progression, signaled by transition phrases like 'Overall' and 'Now turning to the details'. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'As an overall trend' introduces a redundant paragraph at the end that repeats data already stated (travelling to work and working percentages from 1958). Referencing and logical sequencing break down slightly in the final paragraph, creating a repetitive and disjointed conclusion. Paragraphing is present, but the internal logical flow requires better management. This performance aligns with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common items such as 'proportion', 'plummeted', and 'significantly'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations. For example, the phrase 'spent time in travelling to work' is grammatically imprecise, and 'chose time spent in travelling' is unnatural. Furthermore, the misuse of statistical reporting language (e.g., 'increased significantly by 42%' instead of 'reached 42%') limits the precision required for Academic Task 1. Spelling is generally accurate, but vocabulary control prevents the score from reaching Band 6.5. Band 6.0 is well-suited here.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and comparative forms ('while the percentage who were relaxing at home was the lowest...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, including 'This chartrepresents' (spacing error), 'the proportion of the working adults who spent time working was the highest in this chart', and 'spent time in travelling'. While these errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from achieving a Band 6.5. The grammatical control is characteristic of a solid Band 6.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.