Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-27

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 two pie charts compare the daily working routine of adults in a specific state in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working made highest proportion in their daily routine. Also, the time spent on travelling to work was increased significantly over the time while going out with friends was decreased.

By 1958, adults was spending a greater amount of their time by doing work, which accounted for 33%. In addition, sleeping ranked second at 32%, followed by time given to friends and family, at 19%. However, time given relaxation accounted for 8%, meanwhile travelling to work only made 2%.

In 2008, time given to do work increased to 42%, which was the most dominant activity in their daily routine. Moreover, figures for travelling to work increased markedly accounted for 7%. Sleeping was still second most prevalent activity accounted for 25% of the time, followed by relaxation at home, at 13%, whereas going out with family was decreased significantly to 6%. Playing sports make only 7% of their daily plan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses the prompt by providing a summary of the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two pie charts for 1958 and 2008. The overview correctly identifies working as the highest proportion in both years and highlights key trends such as the increase in working and travelling to work alongside the decrease in going out with friends. Key data points are accurately cited, such as work at 33% in 1958 rising to 42% in 2008, and sleeping dropping from 32% to 25%. However, there is a minor omission regarding 'playing sports', which only appears in the 2008 chart at 7% but is included at the very end of the response. Overall, all parts of the task are well-covered with clear supporting data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organised into four distinct paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the data for each year. Information and ideas show a clear progression throughout. Cohesive devices and transition signals such as 'Overall', 'By 1958', 'In addition', 'However', and 'In 2008' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the comparisons. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional minor cohesion faults appear, such as the slightly awkward linking in the overview sentence 'Also, the time spent on travelling to work was increased significantly over the time while going out with friends was decreased.' Despite this, overall organisation remains clear and coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate and sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to data reporting such as 'proportion', 'ranked second', 'dominant activity', 'prevalent', and 'marked'. There are some successful attempts at less common lexical items, but also some noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'working made highest proportion' (should be 'accounted for the highest proportion'), 'time given relaxation' (missing preposition 'to'), and 'Playing sports make only 7%' (tense inconsistency and collocation). Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical control fluctuates between standard phrasing and slightly unnatural collocations, placing this response firmly in the Band 6 territory.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases (e.g., 'By 1958, adults was spending...', 'In 2008, time given to do work increased to 42%, which was the most dominant activity...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, voice, and prepositions, such as 'adults was spending' (subject-verb agreement error), 'was increased significantly' (incorrect passive voice), 'time given relaxation' (omitted preposition), and 'Playing sports make' (subject-verb agreement). These errors are noticeable and detract from grammatical accuracy, though they do not impede overall communication. A wider range of error-free complex structures is needed for a higher band.

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

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