Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-25

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 charts illustrates the proportion of the day spent by working adults on various activities in a specific country in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, the charts clearly shows that working shares a biggest proportion in both years. meanwhile travelling to work shares the lowest percentage in 1958 and going out with friends and family in 2008.

In terms of working, it is accountable for the biggest share in both years 33% in 1958 and it increased to 42% in 2008. In 1958 sleeping represented the second biggest activity which was 32% and then it dropped slightly to 25% in 2008. Going out with friends and family was tripled which was at 19% in 1958, however it dramatically decreased to 6% in 2008.

Relaxing at home was at 8% in 1958 which increased to 13% in 2008. however, travelling to work incresed thriced as compared to 1958 that is 2% and 7% in 2008. Playing sports shares 7% in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both pie charts and making relevant comparisons between 1958 and 2008. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, noting that working shares the biggest proportion in both years. Key data points are correctly cited, such as working increasing from 33% to 42% and sleeping dropping from 32% to 25%. However, there is a mathematical error in the reporting of 'going out with friends and family': the student states it was 'tripled which was at 19% in 1958, however it dramatically decreased to 6% in 2008', which contradicts the values since 19% to 6% is a decrease, not a triple. Despite this minor factual/mathematical confusion in phrasing, the core trends are well identified and supported with correct figures. Overall, the response satisfies the requirements for a Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 6 due to minor inaccuracies in data interpretation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and separate body paragraphs for specific data details. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'In terms of working', and 'however'. However, some cohesive links are mechanically applied or punctuated incorrectly, such as starting a sentence with 'meanwhile' without proper clause integration, and uncapitalised transition words like 'however,'. Paragraphing is adequate, but the logical progression within paragraphs occasionally falters due to abrupt shifts between data points (e.g., 'Playing sports shares 7% in 2008' standing alone as a single-sentence paragraph). Referencing and substitution are generally clear, but the overall mechanical cohesion prevents the text from reaching a higher band. This corresponds to Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'proportion', 'accountable for', 'dramatically decreased', and 'represented'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'working shares a biggest proportion' (instead of 'work accounts for the largest proportion') and 'incresed thriced' (a misspelled and unnatural collocation; 'tripled' should be used instead). The misuse of mathematical relationships ('Going out with friends and family was tripled which was at 19%... decreased to 6%') further limits lexical precision. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas clearly, these recurring word choice and spelling errors keep the score at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like 'it is accountable for the biggest share...' and 'as compared to 1958 that is 2% and 7% in 2008'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation flaws throughout the text. Examples include missing capitalization after full stops (e.g., 'meanwhile', 'however,'), incorrect verb forms and spelling errors ('incresed thriced'), and run-on or awkwardly fused clauses (e.g., 'travelling to work incresed thriced as compared to 1958 that is 2% and 7% in 2008'). Although these errors do not severely impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the response from achieving a Band 7.0. The grammar aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

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

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