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 proportions of time spend on various activities by working people of a particulat country in 1958 anmd 2008.
Overall, Working and sleeping accounted more than half percantage of a day. Relaxing at home increased considerably over the period. However, going out with friends and family decreased significantly.While commuting to work, and playing sports had minor proportion.
In 1958, people spent 33% of their day at work which rose to 42% in 2008. Working adults in 1958 devoted 32% of time on sleeping and figure dipped slightly to 25% in 2008.
people spent 19% of the day by going out with friends and family for recreation in 1958 and figure dropped dramatically to 6% in 2008. About 8% love to relax at home in 1958 and the proportion surged to 13% in 2008. In 1958, people had 2% of the day to spend on commuting which subtantially increased to 7% in 2008. Playing sports acoounted only 6% in 1958 with 1% rise in 2008 and it was 7% in 2008.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between 1958 and 2008. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing broad trends such as increases in working and relaxing at home, and a decrease in going out with friends and family. Data is cited accurately from the charts, such as working rising from 33% to 42% and sleeping dipping from 32% to 25%. However, there is a minor contradiction and inaccuracy in the final paragraph regarding sports ('Playing sports acoounted only 6% in 1958 with 1% rise in 2008 and it was 7% in 2008'), where playing sports was actually not present in 1958 according to the chart data provided. Despite this minor data misreading, the overall response is well-structured and fulfills the task requirements effectively.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged logically with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs that break down the data by categories. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'In 1958'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and detailed body points. However, some mechanical or awkward transitions occur, such as the fragment 'While commuting to work, and playing sports had minor proportion' in the overview paragraph, which lacks a main verb clause. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression is occasionally interrupted by slight mechanical phrasing, placing it solidly in the mid-to-upper band range.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing functional terms such as 'proportions', 'considerably', 'surged', and 'dramatically'. Less common vocabulary items are attempted, though with some minor inaccuracies or awkward collocations (e.g., 'spent time spend' instead of 'spent', 'devoted 32% of time on sleeping' instead of 'to sleeping', and 'About 8% love to relax', where 'love' is too informal for an academic report). Spelling errors also occur, such as 'particulat' and 'anmd' in the opening sentence, as well as 'acoounted' and 'subtantially'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'while' and relative temporal markers. There are several grammatical errors and typos throughout the text, such as agreement and preposition issues ('time spend' instead of 'time spent', 'percantage' instead of 'percentage') and punctuation slips. Sentence structures are generally understandable, and the majority of simple statements are constructed correctly, but complex structures frequently contain minor errors or awkward phrasing. Control of grammar is sufficient to ensure meaning is clear, though errors persist across both simple and complex forms.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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