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 two pie charts illustrate information regarding how adults work in a specific country and spent their time in two different years 1958 and 2008.

Overall, it is evident that working, relaxing at home and travelling to work activities increased, while going out with family & friends and sleeping decreased.

In 1958, working was dominant sector about 33%, sleeping at 32% ranked at second that how adults spent their time. Adults pass their time by outing with friend & family about 19%. Travelling to work at 2% spent time by working adults. While adults spent their time for playing sports about 7% of total.

In 2008, Working adults spent their most of time on doing job accounted at 42% which is the most dominant sector in their scehedule. Sleeping time fell at 25%, which was 32% in 1958. Travelling to work and relaxing at home both rose steadily about at 7% and 13% respectively. Time for playing sports remained stable at 7%, as it was in 1958. Time for going outside with family & friends reduced significantly at 6%, it was 19% in 1958.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the pie charts from 1958 and 2008 and making appropriate comparisons. An overview is provided, noting the main general trends. However, there are several inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the student states that travelling to work increased, but the data shows it rose from 2% to 7% (which is correct), but then claims 'relaxing at home and travelling to work activities increased, while going out with family & friends and sleeping decreased', which is generally accurate except for minor data misinterpretations in the body paragraphs, such as stating 'working was dominant sector about 33%, sleeping at 32% ranked at second' in 1958 where working and sleeping are nearly tied (33% and 32%). Despite these minor data inaccuracies, the overall response covers all categories and provides relevant comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement with a distinct introduction, body paragraphs, and an overview incorporated near the beginning. Information and ideas are logically sequenced, moving from an introductory summary to specific details for 1958 and then 2008. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In 1958', 'In 2008', 'while', and 'as it was in 1958'. However, referencing and paragraphing are sometimes clumsy, and cohesive devices are occasionally repetitive or mechanically applied, such as the frequent repetition of 'Adults spent their time...'. Paragraphing is present, but the logical flow between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'dominant sector', 'accounted at', and 'remained stable'. However, there are frequent word choice and collocation errors, such as 'how adults work in a specific country and spent their time' (awkward phrasing), 'Adults pass their time by outing with friend & family' (unnatural collocation), and 'spent their most of time on doing job accounted at 42%' (ungrammatical collocation). Spelling is generally acceptable, but vocabulary limitations and awkward phrasings restrict the score to a 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative forms (e.g., 'which is the most dominant sector in their scehedule', 'which was 32% in 1958'). However, there are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies, missing prepositions, and awkward clause structures, such as 'sleeping at 32% ranked at second that how adults spent their time' and 'Time for going outside with family & friends reduced significantly at 6%, it was 19% in 1958' (comma splice). These errors frequently cause strain for the reader, though communication is generally maintained.

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

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