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 given pie charts depict comparison of how working youngsters in 1958 and 2008 in a particular country spent their time.

Overall, the percentage of spending time with friends and family considerably declined as compared to the past, whereas participating in sports was appreciated. Some youngsters in 2008 were more inclined towards working than in 1958, while other activities showed moderate fluctuations.

Initially, going out with friends and family showed a marked decline from 19% to 6% in 2008. Secondly, the percentage for commuting distance to work increased from 2% to 7%. However, sleeping became a less preferred activity with only 25% individuals in the later year.

Playing sports was introduced as a new activity in 2008 with a relatively low figure of 7% which formerly did not exist. Adults in 2008 relaxed at home with an increased proportion to 13% from 9%. Lastly, working accounted for majority of the percentage in both the years, however, an increased trend was observed with 42% adolescents working in 2008 with a relatively less proportion of 33% in 1958.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses the main features of the two pie charts, successfully highlighting key changes such as the rise in working hours and the decline in socialising with friends and family. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing broad trends. However, there are notable inaccuracies in task interpretation and data reporting. Firstly, the prompt specifies working adults, whereas the student repeatedly refers to them as 'youngsters' and 'adolescents'. Secondly, some data points are misreported: for instance, the student states that adults relaxing at home increased from 9% (whereas the chart shows 8% in 1958) to 13%, and incorrectly refers to 'travelling to work' as 'commuting distance to work'. While key comparisons are made, these data inaccuracies and demographic mischaracterisations prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged logically with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to contrasting the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different aspects of the visual data. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Initially', 'Secondly', 'However', and 'Lastly'. However, some transitions feel somewhat mechanical or slightly unnatural in context, such as starting body paragraphs with 'Initially' and 'Secondly', which do not fit a static comparison of two time periods as well as comparative linkers would. Referencing is mostly clear, though the overall progression could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'considerably declined', 'moderate fluctuations', and 'proportion'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors that detract from the response. For example, referring to working adults as 'youngsters' and 'adolescents' is factually incorrect for the demographic shown in the charts. Additionally, phrasing like 'percentage for commuting distance' misuses lexical terms, as the chart measures time percentages rather than distance. Spelling and word forms are generally acceptable, but precision is lacking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate structures successfully, such as in 'whereas participating in sports was appreciated' and 'working accounted for majority of the percentage in both the years'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'the percentage of spending time' (instead of 'the percentage of time spent'), missing articles like 'accounted for majority', and slight prepositional slips. Despite these errors, they rarely impede overall communication, and the meaning remains clear throughout the essay.

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

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