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 chart gives information about expenditure of time by its working adult community of a particular country, in year 1958 and 2008.
Overall, people spent most of the time working, followed by sleeping is the 2nd highest ratio in both of the years. Interestingly, in 1958 going out with family was the third largest one fifth of total, which decreased considerably to lowest among all in 2008. while, other categories remained somewhat same.
In 1958, working was the top time spent category around one third of the total and working time increased to 42% in 2008. While, 2nd on list with 32% and to 25% people liked to sleep in their free time in 1958 and 2008 respectively. Where as, travelling to work also upgraded from as minimum as 2% to 7% surpassing going out with family and friends in 2008.
Conversely, 19% people favorite activity was going out with friends and family, the third on list in 1958, downgraded to only one in twenty in 2008. On other hand, relaxing at home 8% to 13% and playing sports 7% remained approximately similar around both of these years.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by comparing the two pie charts showing how working adults spent their time in 1958 and 2008. Key features are reported, such as the increase in working hours from 33% to 42% and the dramatic drop in time spent going out with friends and family from 19% down to 6%. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, capturing the main trend regarding working and sleeping. However, some data references are slightly vague, and minor grouping of the information could be more streamlined. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of Task 1 adequately, covering the main features and making relevant comparisons throughout the text.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then two body paragraphs detailing specific data points. Cohesive devices such as 'Interestingly', 'Conversely', and 'On other hand' are used to connect ideas, though some transitional phrases feel a bit mechanical or awkward. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the report. While the logical flow is generally clear, occasional awkward phrasing and referencing (e.g., 'while, other categories remained somewhat same') slightly disrupt the overall progression and readability.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'expenditure of time', 'considerably', 'surpassing', and 'approximately similar'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'top time spent category' and 'people liked to sleep in their free time' (sleeping is a physiological necessity rather than a leisure preference). Spelling is generally accurate, but some lexical inaccuracies and clunky phrasing prevent the score from reaching a higher band level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, such as missing articles ('in year 1958'), awkward preposition use ('spent most of the time working'), and incomplete or run-on sentences ('While, 2nd on list with 32% and to 25% people liked to sleep...'). Punctuation is also faulty in places, including stray capital letters and unnecessary commas. These errors require some effort from the reader to parse, placing the grammar firmly in the mid-band range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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