Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The pie charts illustrate how working adults in a particular country allocated their time to five different activities in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working accounted for the largest proportion of the day in both years, although it increased considerably in 2008. In contrast, the amount of time spent sleeping and going out with friends or family decreased. The proportions for relaxing at home and travelling to work both rose.

In 1958, working occupied 33% of the day, followed closely by sleeping at 32%. Going out with friends or family represented 19%, while relaxing at home accounted for 8%. Only 2% of the day was spent travelling to work.

By 2008, the proportion of time devoted to working had increased to 42%, making it the most dominant activity. Sleeping, however, fell to 25%, a decrease of 7 percentage points. The time spent relaxing at home rose from 8% to 13%, while travelling to work increased substantially from 2% to 7%. Meanwhile, going out with friends or family dropped sharply from 19% to just 6%. Playing sports, which was not shown in 1958, accounted for 7% of the day in 2008.

Overall, the charts indicate a shift towards more working, commuting and relaxing at home, while less time was spent sleeping and socialising outside the home in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response fully and accurately addresses all parts of the task. The student provides a clear overview highlighting the main trends, such as the increase in working time and the decrease in sleeping and socialising. Key data points from both years—such as working occupying 33% in 1958 and rising to 42% in 2008—are accurately selected and reported. Comparisons are made effectively across the two time periods, including the introduction of 'playing sports' in 2008. The figures cited match the provided data precisely. The response achieves a well-developed, comprehensive summary without including unnecessary or invented details, aligning fully with the Band 8 descriptor for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The report is logically organised with a clear progression from introduction to body paragraphs and an overall summary. The use of paragraphing is appropriate, separating the introduction, general overview, detailed breakdown of 1958, detailed breakdown of 2008, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'meanwhile', and 'by 2008' are used naturally and effectively to guide the reader through the data. Referencing is clear throughout. Although the second paragraph functions as a mini-overview and the final paragraph reiterates some summary points, the overall structure remains coherent and easy to follow, supporting a solid Band 7 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response. Less common vocabulary items and functional phrases such as 'allocated their time', 'proportion of time devoted to', 'increased substantially', and 'dropped sharply' are used accurately and with good awareness of collocation. Word choices are precise, as seen in expressions like 'most dominant activity' and 'percentage points'. Spelling and word formation are entirely accurate throughout the text. While it stops short of the sophisticated, highly fluent control required for a Band 8, the lexical range easily satisfies the Band 7 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

The writer uses a wide variety of complex sentence structures with a high degree of accuracy. Examples include subordinate clauses ('while relaxing at home accounted for 8%'), participial modifiers ('making it the most dominant activity'), and relative clauses ('which was not shown in 1958'). The majority of sentences are completely error-free, and control over punctuation and tense consistency (past simple for data reporting) is excellent. There are no noticeable grammatical slips or awkward phrasings that impede communication. This level of control clearly meets the standard for a Band 8.

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

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