Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The pie chart illustrates the proportion of employees who spend their time in 1958 and 2008 in a specific country.

In 1958, the study shows the individual highly involved in working and sleeping, while less going out with family or friends. Although, the amount of travelling to work is plunged with less relaxation time.

In 2008, the person is majorly working withe taking good sleep and relaxing at home. Furthermore, spending a little time in playing sports, travelling to work and also going out with family or friends.

In comparison, the percentage of activities like working in 1998 rose steadily from 33% to 42% in 2008. Additionally, relaxing at home increased from 8% in 1998 to 13% in 2008. Whereas, the sleeping time and going out plummet from 32% in 1998 to 25% in 2008 and 19% in 1998 to 6% in 2008. Consequently making room for the sports also added in 2008 with 7%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to report the main features of the pie charts comparing 1958 and 2008. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting and interpretation. For instance, the student refers to 'employees' rather than 'working adults', and mentions 'the individual' or 'the person' as if describing a single case study, which is inappropriate for aggregate statistical data. Furthermore, the timeline is confused in places, such as referencing '1998' instead of '1958'. While some key trends like working hours and relaxing at home increasing are identified, the overall data coverage contains noticeable flaws and unsupported generalizations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, including an introduction, body paragraphs for each year, and a comparison paragraph. However, logical progression is hindered by confusing transitions and referencing errors (e.g., repeatedly writing '1998' instead of '1958'). Cohesive devices are attempted, but words like 'Although' and 'Consequently' are misused structurally, leading to disjointed and ungrammatical sentence links. Paragraphing is present, but the internal cohesion of ideas requires better control to achieve a clear, logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and frequently inappropriate for an academic task. Words like 'plunged', 'plummet', and 'rose steadily' are applied to static pie chart percentage data rather than dynamic time-series trends. There are also repetitive and unnatural lexical choices, such as 'withe taking good sleep' and 'adding in 2008'. While the student attempts less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling ('withe') impede clear communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the proportion of employees who spend their time in 1958 and 2008' (tense/preposition misuse), 'less going out' (ungrammatical comparative structure), and 'Consequently making room for the sports also added'. Punctuation and verb tense consistency are also problematic throughout the text, meaning that errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader.

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

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