Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-07

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 given pie chart depicts how much time spent different activities such as going out with friends, travelling to work, working, relaxing at home, playing sports and sleeping from 1958 to 2008.

In general, it can be clearly seen that people spend the maximum time on working and sleeping, whereas the mimum time was spent on travelling to work.

Looking at the pie chart in more detail, people spent 33% time on working in 1958 and time was increased by 10% in 2008. Spending on sleep was 32% in 1958 and, even though experienced a slight fall 7% in 2008. 5% and 8% time was spent on plating sports and relaxing at home in 1958, whilst spending on both witnessed a swift incline to 7% and 13% in 2008.

Moving to the next activity, people spent 2% time on travelling to work and time was slightlt increased by 5% in 2008. 19% spent on going out with family and friends, even though thay spent only 6% in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important patterns, including the rise in working time from 33% to 42%, the fall in sleeping from 32% to 25%, and the sharp decline in socialising from 19% to 6%. However, the overview is not fully accurate: working was the largest category in 2008, but sleeping was slightly larger than working in 1958, so neither activity was consistently among the maximum in the same way. The claim that travelling was the minimum also overlooks that sports was 7% in 2008, tied with travel, while sports is not shown for 1958. Most importantly, you report sports at 5% in 1958, although it is absent from that year’s chart. Select and compare the categories more precisely, and make the overview reflect the main changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a general overview, and two detail paragraphs. The sequence from the broad trends to individual activities is easy to follow, and phrases such as “Looking at the pie chart in more detail” and “Moving to the next activity” signal transitions. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, and the final paragraph groups travel and socialising without explaining their contrast. Some linking is also awkward or unclear, particularly “even though experienced a slight fall,” where the subject is missing. Organise the details into clearer comparisons—for example, increases, decreases, and unchanged or newly shown categories—and use more precise referencing so each comparison is easy to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “depicts,” “maximum,” “slight fall,” and “incline,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “time was increased by 10%” suggests a relative percentage increase rather than a change from 33% to 42%, while “swift incline” is not a natural way to describe the rise in relaxing at home. “Plating sports” and “mimum” are spelling errors, and “spending on sleep” is less precise than “the proportion of time spent sleeping.” Aim for accurate chart language and check spelling carefully; using terms such as “rose by 9 percentage points” would make the data description more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple sentences and longer structures, including a contrast with “whereas” and a concession beginning “even though.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, “even though experienced a slight fall” lacks a grammatical subject, and “people spent 33% time on working” is missing an article or a more suitable construction. The sentence “5% and 8% time was spent…” also has an agreement problem, while “19% spent on going out” omits the people or time being described. Practise complete clause structures and consistent past-tense reporting, and check articles, subjects, and verb agreement when combining comparisons.

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

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