Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The two pie charts illustrates the information about working adults apent their time in 1958 and 2008 for a particular country.

Overall, youngers spent a lot of time in working whereas a few time in travelling to work and playing sports in both years. They gave moderate time to relaxing in given years. They spent higher time togoing out with friends or family in 1958 whereas in 2008 this became much lower.

In 1958, adults gave their much more time to working which was 33% wherease much less time time travlling to work which was 2%. Going out with friends or family was 19% while playing sports and relaxing at home was 7% and 8%. In sleeping, he gave his 32% time.

In 2008, youngers spent a lot time in their work which was 42% in contrast time given to playing sports and travelling to work was 7%. In sleeping, he gave 25% time. Going out with friends or falimy and relaxing at home was 6% and 13%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the prompt by summarising the main features of the two pie charts comparing adult time use in 1958 and 2008. An overview is provided, highlighting the general prominence of working and the shifts in social activities. Key data points are cited correctly, such as working increasing from 33% to 42% and travelling to work rising from 2% to 7%. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting; for instance, the student states that playing sports was 7% in 1958, whereas the chart shows playing sports only appeared in 2008 at 7% (it was absent or not recorded in 1958). Additionally, pronouns like 'he' are used inappropriately to refer to adults generally. While the response meets the minimum word count, the lapses in data accuracy and minor omissions limit the score to a Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is organised into four paragraphs, following a standard introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs format. There is a basic structure and some attempts at cohesive devices, such as 'Overall', 'In 1958', and 'In 2008', to guide the reader through the data. However, the logical progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing and awkward referencing, such as switching inconsistently between 'youngers' and 'adults', and using singular pronouns ('he gave his 32% time') for collective demographic groups. Furthermore, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or misused (e.g., 'wherease much less time time travlling'). Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion lacks seamless transitions. This performance aligns with the Band 5.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and repetitive. The student frequently relies on basic verbs and phrases like 'spent a lot of time', 'gave their much more time', and 'time given to'. There are several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'apent' instead of spent, 'youngers' instead of young adults or adults, 'travlling' instead of travelling, and 'falimy' instead of family. Although the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic comparison of percentages, the numerous lexical errors and lack of sophisticated phrasing prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and preposition usage, such as 'The two pie charts illustrates' (plural subject with singular verb), 'spent their time in working' (incorrect preposition), 'spent higher time togoing out' (awkward collocation and spelling), and 'which was 33% wherease much less time time travlling' (missing verbs and punctuation errors). Additionally, pronoun reference errors ('he gave 25% time') disrupt grammatical precision. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause minor strain for the reader, this warrants a Band 5.0.

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.