Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-28
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 given pie charts illustrate the percentage of working adults spending on various activities in two different years (1958 and 2008). I'll discuss the main features and make comparisons below:
In the year of 1958, the pie chart clearly shows that the percentage of working adults and sleeping are greater than 30% (33% and 32% respectively). They spent 19% of quality time with their family and friends. Moreover, 8% of relaxing at home. While only 2% of travelling to work respectively.
Whereas, in 20's century, the percentage of working adults are more than in 19"s century which is 42%. Comparatively, the sleeping decreases and it's 25% whole. Furthermore, the relaxing at home increases to 13%. Surprisingly, playing sports and traveling to work stands on the same percentage in the pie chart of 2008 as its 7% each. The rest only 6% of their time spend with their family and friends.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both pie charts and making relevant comparisons between 1958 and 2008. The key data points, such as working hours rising from 33% to 42% and sleeping hours decreasing from 32% to 25%, are correctly identified. However, the student includes conversational meta-language in the introduction ('I'll discuss the main features and make comparisons below'), which is inappropriate for an academic task. Additionally, some categories are expressed awkwardly, such as 'the percentage of working adults and sleeping are greater than 30%', which inaccurately groups people with an activity. Overall, the information is adequately selected and reported.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay is divided into an introduction and two body paragraphs, providing a basic organizational structure. However, logical progression is hindered by poor transitions and mechanical cohesive devices. For instance, the second body paragraph begins abruptly with 'Whereas, in 20's century', which contains awkward phrasing and punctuation. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and cohesive devices are overused or misused, such as starting consecutive sentences with 'Moreover' and 'Furthermore'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal flow of ideas lacks the smooth progression expected at higher band levels.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic data such as percentages and activity names. However, there are numerous lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'percentage of working adults spending on various activities' (missing a reflexive pronoun or passive voice) and '20's century' and '19"s century' instead of the 1950s or the 20th century. Attempts to use less common vocabulary result in unnatural collocations like 'sleeping decreases and it's 25% whole' and 'traveling to work stands on the same percentage'. These errors occasionally impede smooth reading.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and sentence structure, such as 'the percentage of working adults and sleeping are greater than 30%' and 'While only 2% of travelling to work respectively', which is a fragment lacking a main verb. Punctuation and formatting errors are also present, including the misuse of apostrophes in '20's century' and '19"s century'. While communication is generally maintained despite these errors, they occur with high frequency throughout the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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