Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-29

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 of 1958 and 2008 shows how adults who are working in a particular nations spent their time.

Overall, it can be noticed adults spent their most of the time in working in both years and very less time in travelling to work in 1958, they spent very similar time in playing sports in both years.

In the year of 1958 working adults spent 33% of their time in working which was the highest number compared to others in contrast they spend very less time in travelling to work by 2%, they were spend 32% of their time in sleeping and 19% in going out with family and friends, they spend 8% in relaxing at home and around 6% of their time in playing sports.

Working time of adults was increased to 42% in 2008 while the time of going out with friends and family was decreased to 6% and sleeping time was also reduced to 25% compared to 1958, the time for relaxing at home was increased to 13% compare to 1958 and also travelling to work time was increased to 7%, there was no any noticeable difference in playing sports because in 1958 it was around 6% and 7% in 2008 which makes only 1% of difference.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the charts for both 1958 and 2008. There is a clear overall trend identified in the second paragraph, and relevant comparisons are made throughout the text, such as noting that working time increased from 33% to 42%. However, there is a minor data inaccuracy in the overview and body paragraph where the student mentions playing sports was present in 1958 with around 6% of the time, whereas the provided visual data shows playing sports was only introduced in the 2008 chart at 7%. Despite this slight misinterpretation of the 1958 data, the response effectively selects, reports, and compares the key statistics, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing specific years and changes. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In the year of 1958', 'in contrast', and 'while'. However, the flow of sentences within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by run-on structures and comma splices, as seen in sentences like '...in contrast they spend very less time in travelling to work by 2%, they were spend 32% of their time in sleeping...'. Paragraphing is present and appropriate for the task type, but referencing and sentence linking could be smoother and more accurate to achieve a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully employing terms related to time allocation and data reporting, such as 'percentages', 'highest number', 'increased', and 'decreased'. There are, however, noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'very less time' instead of 'very little time', and awkward phrasing like 'working adults spent 33% of their time in working'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical range is somewhat limited and repetitive, with frequent reuse of basic verbs like 'spend' and 'increased' rather than demonstrating flexibility with synonyms and less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and tense inconsistencies throughout the text, such as 'The Pie charts of 1958 and 2008 shows' (subject-verb agreement error), 'they were spend 32%' (incorrect passive/tense construction), and 'there was no any noticeable difference' (double negative/redundancy). Additionally, many sentences are joined incorrectly with commas rather than conjunctions or full stops. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to restrict the score to Band 5.5.

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

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