Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-03

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 6.5)

The pie charts compare the activities of an adult in a day across six categories in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working and traveling to work hours significantly increased likewise relaxing at home and playing sports. Whereas, going out with family/friends and sleeping decreased notably.

Working accounted for the largest proportion in both years, at 33% in 1958 and 42% in 2008 and showed a remarkable rise in working hours. Similarly, as working hours raised time taken in travelling to work showed the same trend with 5% increase from 2% to 7%. Relaxing at home constituted 8% and in 2008 it was 13% of the total. Although playing sports only changed 1% it still depicted a rise.

In contrast, the time spent in sleeping was 32% and it represented a notable decrease by 7% from 32% to 25%. Proportion of going out with friends/family presented the highest substantial change and it decline from 19% to only 6%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by addressing both years and selecting key features for comparison. The main trends are identified, such as the increase in working hours and the significant drop in socializing. However, some areas show signs of under-development and slight misinterpretation. For instance, the overview incorrectly states that relaxing at home and playing sports significantly increased likewise traveling to work, whereas sports only saw a minor change and the data grouping is slightly imprecise. The detail provided for working and sleeping is relevant and well-supported with exact percentages, but the selection of data in places lacks the depth required for a higher band. Overall, it satisfies the requirements of a mid-level score by giving an account of the main features with relevant comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the introductory statement to the body paragraphs and the overview. Information and data are generally organized well, allowing the reader to follow the comparison easily. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as "Overall", "Similarly", "Although", and "In contrast". However, cohesion occasionally feels slightly mechanical or faulty, as seen in awkward transitions like "working and traveling to work hours significantly increased likewise relaxing at home and playing sports." Paragraphing is used adequately to separate the general trends from the specific category breakdowns, but referencing and flow between sentences could be smoother and more natural to reach the next band.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and descriptive phrases such as "proportion", "constituted", "notable decrease", and "substantial change". Communication is clear despite some lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices. For example, phrases like "working and traveling to work hours significantly increased likewise relaxing at home" contain imprecise word choices, and verbs are sometimes misused, such as "it decline from 19%" instead of "declined". Spelling is generally accurate, and the vocabulary deployed is sufficient to allow the reader to grasp the main points of the visual data without difficulty, though more precise control of collocations and word forms is needed for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses and comparative constructions. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede communication. Examples of grammatical slips include "as working hours raised time taken in travelling to work showed the same trend" (where 'raised' should be 'rose' or 'increased', though this also touches on vocabulary) and missing articles or prepositions such as "the time spent in sleeping". Complex sentence attempts are present, but control is inconsistent, and punctuation around contrastive linkers could be improved. The presence of these recurring errors alongside a limited variety of fully error-free complex structures keeps the grammar score at this level.

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.