Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The chart illustrates a comparison of actvities of working adults by time spending in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, the adults spent their maximum time on working and minimum time on travelling to work in 1958. Similarly, in 2008, they spent the largest portion of their time on working, but the lowest portion of time on going out with friends or family.

In 1958, the highest percentage of the adults' time was spent on working, being at 33%, followed by sleeping, which was the second activity with most time, being at 32%. Time spent on going out with friends or family stayed at 19% and that of travelling to work was only 2%, making it the activity with lowest time spending.

in 2008, working again dominated the chart with highest time of 42%, while sleeping time was at 25%, relaxing at home was at 13%, playing sports and travelling to work both stood at 7%, and going out with friends or family was 6%, making it the lowest time spending activity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response identifies the main pattern accurately: working takes the largest share in both years, while the smallest category changes from commuting in 1958 to socialising in 2008. It also reports the key figures correctly, including the close 33% and 32% shares for work and sleep in 1958, and the 42% work share in 2008. This gives the reader a clear account of the charts. However, the overview is mostly a ranking of the largest and smallest categories; it does not summarise the broader changes between years. For example, it could highlight that work, commuting and relaxing at home all increased, while sleeping and time with friends or family declined. The sports category, which appears only in 2008, could also be noted. These omissions leave some features less fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised in a clear sequence: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 1958 and 2008. This makes the comparisons easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Similarly,” “followed by,” and “while” help show relationships between the figures. The progression is generally logical, with each year’s categories presented together. To make the cohesion more flexible and polished, avoid relying mainly on lists and repeated sentence patterns. The final paragraph, for instance, places several 2008 figures in one long sentence; grouping the increases and decreases or comparing them directly with 1958 would create stronger links across the two years. Also ensure consistent paragraph-opening capitalisation, as “in 2008” begins with a lowercase letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for describing the charts, and the response uses relevant terms such as “percentage,” “portion,” “dominated,” and “followed by.” The meaning remains clear throughout. However, some word choices and collocations are awkward or repetitive, particularly “time spending,” “highest time,” and “the activity with lowest time spending.” “Maximum time” and “lowest portion of time” also sound less natural in this context. There is some useful variation in referring to shares, but more precise chart language would improve flexibility and control. Use expressions such as “accounted for,” “the largest share,” and “the smallest proportion,” and vary “spent” with “allocated” where appropriate. Correcting the spelling of “actvities” would also improve accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple statements and more complex structures, including “followed by sleeping, which was the second activity…” and “making it the activity with lowest time spending.” Most sentences communicate the intended comparisons clearly, and the figures are incorporated into grammatical clauses. Some errors and awkward constructions remain. In “the adults spent their maximum time on working,” the pattern after “spent” is not well controlled; “spent the most time working” is more natural. The phrase “the second activity with most time” is also missing “the” before “most,” while “with lowest time spending” needs an article and a clearer grammatical construction. The long final sentence would benefit from being divided or structured more carefully. These issues do not prevent understanding, but greater accuracy and variety are needed.

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

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