Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-02

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 chart illustrates the how people spend their specific time in 1958 and 2008.

On the one hand, in 1958 people spend their time like this 33 percent in working it is the largest area in chart and the lowest area is travelling to work approximately 2 percent and the second highest most is the sleeping is 32 percent the third one is the going out with friends and family and the 8 percent is relaxing at home.

On the other hand, in 2008 people spend mostly in working 42 percent recorded it is the highest in this year and the lowest time spending in outing with friends and family is roughly 6 percent. Other is the 25 percent in sleeping, 13 percent in relaxing at home and 7 percent in playing sports and same as travelling to work.

In conclusion, the working is increase in 2008 as compare to 1958, sleeping is reduce, travelling to work is also rise, relaxing at home is high and outing is dramatically fall.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially by attempting to summarise the main features of the two pie charts for 1958 and 2008. While you successfully mention several data points, such as working (33% to 42%) and travelling to work (2% to 7%), some parts are under-developed or inadequately supported. For example, your description of the data is somewhat mechanical, listing percentages consecutively without drawing out the broader comparative trends clearly until the brief conclusion. To move to a higher band, you need to present a fully developed overview that highlights the most striking overall shifts between the two years and skillfully integrate data comparisons rather than just listing individual figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

There is a coherent overall arrangement to your writing, and you attempt to structure your response using introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs with transitional markers like 'On the one hand' and 'In conclusion'. However, your use of cohesive devices is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, sentences are often strung together with coordinating conjunctions rather than managed through clear referencing or subordinate clauses, making the flow somewhat choppy. To improve, work on varying your cohesive devices and ensuring that information progresses logically from one sentence to the next without relying on repetitive phrase structures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is adequate to convey basic information about the charts, but the range is limited. You attempt some task-appropriate terms such as 'percentage', 'highest', and 'lowest', but you also rely on very basic phrasing and repetitive structures ('people spend their time like this', 'time spending in outing'). There are also noticeable word choice and word formation errors, such as using 'outing' instead of 'going out with friends and family' and 'the working is increase' where noun forms and verbs are confused. To achieve a higher score, you should expand your range of vocabulary by incorporating precise synonyms and less common lexical items related to data reporting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Your writing displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences or awkward run-on clauses linked by commas. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to significant structural errors. For example, phrases like 'The pie chart illustrates the how people spend their specific time' contain intrusive grammatical elements, and verb tense usage is inconsistent or missing auxiliary support (e.g., 'people spend mostly in working 42 percent recorded'). Frequent errors in grammar, prepositions, and clause structures are present throughout the text, which places your grammatical control at this level. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence boundary rules, accurate verb forms, and the correct grammatical patterns for describing statistics.

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

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