Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-23
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 charts illustrate how the time is spend by adults in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, 2 years are given with different activities and there percentage also mentioned. In 1958 the highest proportion was in the work which was 33% and the lowest proportion was 2% in travelling to work. In 2008 the working had highest percentage and going out with friends and family have the percentage of 6.
Activities includes working, relaxing at home, sleeping, travelling to work, going out with family or friends. In 1958 working activity was 33%, relaxing at home was 8%, sleeping was 32%, travelling for job was 2% and going out with family or friends was 19%.
In 2008 the working was 42%, relaxing at home was 13%, sleeping was 25%, travelling to work was 7%, going out with family or friends was 6% and playing sports was 7% which was not present in the year 1958.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to cover the main features of the pie charts by mentioning data for both 1958 and 2008. However, the response lacks a clear and cohesive overview, which is essential for a Band 6 or higher. Instead of summarising the overarching trends, the writer lists raw percentages mechanically, such as 'In 1958 working activity was 33%, relaxing at home was 8%...'. While the highest and lowest proportions are touched upon, the lack of a proper overview paragraph pulling out the most salient shifts (such as the increase in working hours and reduction in sleeping time) keeps the task response limited. This corresponds to Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay is divided into short paragraphs, but the overall progression of ideas is disjointed. The opening sentence contains a passive voice error ('how the time is spend'), and the second paragraph begins with a mechanical statement ('Overall, 2 years are given... and there percentage also mentioned') that reads more like a template than a natural overview. Furthermore, the body paragraphs lack smooth transitions and instead resort to a repetitive listing of data points (e.g., repeating the exact same percentages already stated in the previous sentence). Paragraphing is attempted, but cohesion is mechanical and inadequate, aligning with Band 5 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple terms like 'proportion', 'percentage', and 'activity'. There are also frequent lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'is spend' instead of 'is spent', 'there percentage' instead of 'their percentage', and using 'work' and 'working' interchangeably in a clumsy manner. Although the names of the activities are correctly copied from the prompt, the student demonstrates a limited range of vocabulary that is barely adequate for the task. This fits the Band 5 criteria.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response shows a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple statements of fact with repeated subject-verb patterns. There are multiple grammatical errors, including tense and agreement issues (e.g., 'how the time is spend', 'there percentage also mentioned', 'the working had highest percentage', and 'Activities includes'). Complex structures are rarely attempted, and when they are, they contain errors. Because frequent errors cause some difficulty and the range of structures is limited, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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