Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-18
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 how adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008 while working.
Overall, the highest share was accounted by the working and sleeping time earlier and spending of time in working increased further. Meanwhile, travelling to work shared the smaller percentage among all in first year; However, going outdoors with friends or family become the minimum proportion later.
In 1958, the working time accounted for 33%, which was near to sleeping time, which had the share of 32%. In addition, 19% adults spent their time in going out with friends and family and 8% used their time for relaxtion at home. The smalled proportion was accounted by the time spent in travelling to work by mere 2%.
On the other hand, in 2008, work shared the greater percentage by 42% among all and 25% was accounted by the time in sleeping. Furthermore, 13% time was spent in relaxing at home by adults and 7% fot
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers most parts of the task by selecting key features and making appropriate comparisons between 1958 and 2008. The overview successfully highlights the main trends, noting the increases in working and the shifts in other categories. Figures are generally reported accurately, such as the 33% and 42% for working, and 32% and 25% for sleeping. However, the response trails off abruptly at the end ('7% fot'), leaving the description of 2008 slightly incomplete. Furthermore, some expressions are slightly imprecise, such as 'share was accounted by'. Nevertheless, the core requirements of Task Achievement are met well, warranting a solid band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall structure, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by body paragraphs dedicated to specific years. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Meanwhile', and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in awkward phrasing like 'in first year' and 'later'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph breaks off prematurely before fully concluding. Progression is generally logical, moving from a general comparison to specific details for 1958 and 2008, which places this response comfortably at a band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to time allocation, percentages, and activities such as 'relaxing at home', 'travelling to work', and 'going out with friends and family'. There are attempts at less common vocabulary ('proportion', 'accounted for', 'minimum proportion'), but these are accompanied by lexical inaccuracies and typos, such as 'relaxtion', 'smalled', and the unfinished ending '7% fot'. Word choice is sometimes unnatural, such as 'spending of time in working increased further'. Despite these errors, communication is rarely impeded, supporting a band 6.0 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'The pie charts illustrate how adults... spent their time'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward prepositions, such as 'accounted by' instead of 'accounted for', 'in going out' rather than 'on going out', and 'in first year'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the incomplete final sentence indicates a lapse in control at the end of the text. Because errors occur frequently but do not impede the overall flow of information, a band 6.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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