Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-21

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 6.0)

The pie charts illustrate how working adults allocated their time across various daily activities in 1958 and 2008

Overall, working was the most primary activity in both 1958 and 2008, followed by sleeping. The proportion of activities like relaxing at home, commuting and working increased, while sleeping, going out with friends and family declined drastically during 50 years.

In 1958, working was the most dominant activity taking almost one third of day's time, followed by sleeping at 32%. Relaxing at home accounted for 8%, while commuting required 2% of time. Going out with friends and family was accounted for 19% of time.

By 2008, working remained the most dominant daily activity at 42% followed by sleeping (22%). In past 5 decades the proportion of sleeping decreased by 17%. Other activities like going out with families and friends dropped over time. Travelling to work required more time in 2008. A new distinct activity playing sports was introduced, consuming 7% time daily routine.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student provides a clear overview of the main trends shown in the charts, noting that working and sleeping were the primary activities in both years and highlighting shifts over the fifty-year period. Key data points are selected and reported, such as working rising to 42% in 2008 and travelling to work increasing. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and inconsistencies. For instance, the student states that the proportion of sleeping decreased by 17%, whereas the data shows a drop from 32% to 25% (a 7% decrease). Additionally, the text mentions that 'relaxing at home, commuting and working increased', but relaxing at home was 8% in 1958 and 13% in 2008, which is accurate, though the phrasing regarding overall trends contains slight contradictions. Despite these minor miscalculations, all parts of the task are adequately addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall progression and is logically organized into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs dedicated to each year. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the data, such as 'In 1958', 'By 2008', and 'In past 5 decades'. Paragraphing is appropriate and separates the introduction, overview, and body sections effectively. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel a bit mechanical, and some transitions could be smoother. For example, the sentence 'Other activities like going out with families and friends dropped over time' abruptly follows the sleeping data without a clear linking device. Overall, the organizational structure is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for a Task 1 response, employing terms like 'proportion', 'allocated', 'dominant activity', and 'distinct activity'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some awkward phrasing and minor lexical inaccuracies occur, such as 'most primary activity' (instead of 'primary activity' or 'most prominent activity') and 'taking almost one third of day's time' (missing an article). Word choices are generally clear enough to communicate the intended message without impeding the reader, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as introductory subordinate clauses ('While sleeping, going out with friends and family declined...') and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, including missing articles ('taking almost one third of day\'s time', 'consuming 7% time daily routine') and a math/phrasing error in the comparison ('followed by sleeping (22%)', whereas the transcription and previous sentence state 25%). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are noticeable, they do not seriously impede communication.

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

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