Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-30

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 compare the percentages of day devoted by working adult people on different activities in a specific country between 1958 and 2008.

Overall, it is clear that in 1958 travelling to work accounted the smallest percentage however, in 2008 working acconted the highest percentage. Moreover, in 1958 going out with family/friends accounted the biggest percentage of time while in 2008 going out with family/ friends accounted the smallest percentage.

To begin with, in 1958 time spent on travelling to work accounted 2% meanwhile, in 2008, time consumed on travelling to work accounted higher than 2% to 7%. Furthermore, in 1958 time spent on sleeping accounted 32% however, in 2008 time devoted on sleeping accounted 25%.

Moreover, in 1958 time spent on relaxing at home accounted 8% while in 2008 relaxing at home accounted 13%. In addition, time spent on working in 1958 accounted 33% and in 2008 working time accounted higher than 1958 around 42% and in 1958, time devoted on going out with friends/ family accounted percentage 19% however in 2008, going out with friends/family accounted smaller percentage of 6%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student successfully reports the main features and makes relevant comparisons between the two years, 1958 and 2008. The overview correctly highlights the shifts in working hours and leisure activities, such as 'travelling to work accounted the smallest percentage' in 1958 and working accounting the highest in 2008. Key data points from the charts are accurately cited, including the rise in working hours from 33% to 42% and the drop in sleeping time from 32% to 25%. However, there are some minor factual inaccuracies in the body paragraphs; for instance, the text claims that going out with family/friends was the 'biggest percentage' in 1958, whereas sleeping (32%) was larger and working was also higher (33%). Overall, all parts of the prompt are addressed, though data selection and interpretation contain minor lapses. This aligns best with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from an introductory paragraph to an overview, followed by detailed supporting body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used to separate different categories of activities. However, cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive and mechanical, relying heavily on transitional phrases like 'To begin with,' 'Furthermore,' 'Moreover,' and 'In addition.' Additionally, referencing is occasionally repetitive, and the overuse of the verb 'accounted' throughout the text creates a monotonous flow. Nevertheless, the logical arrangement makes the relationship between ideas clear, supporting a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it lacks variety and precision. The student excessively repeats the verb 'accounted' (e.g., 'accounted the smallest percentage', 'accounted 2%') and basic lexical items like 'time spent' and 'percentage'. There are also minor awkward phrasings and word choices, such as 'working adult people' instead of 'working adults', and 'time consumed on travelling' instead of 'time spent travelling'. Although the lexical range is narrow and relies heavily on terms from the prompt, the meaning remains clear throughout, meeting the criteria for Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as compound sentences linked by 'meanwhile', 'however', and 'while'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural errors and awkward prepositions, such as 'percentages of day devoted by working adult people on different activities' (missing articles and awkward prepositional choices), 'acconted' (spelling error), and 'accounted higher than 2% to 7%' (ungrammatical comparison expression). Punctuation is also occasionally weak, with missing commas before conjunctions in long clauses. Because errors are frequent in complex constructions but do not impede overall communication, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.