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 pie chart gives information on percentage of the day spent by working adultson various activities between 1958 and 2008.

Overall, in 1958 most of the adults spent his time in working, while travelling to work get smallest proportion. Besides, in 2008 the figure going out with friend represent smallest portion.

In 1958, 33% spent his time in working, while sleeping portion made up a second biggest proportion in chart, at 32%. Moreover, adults spent 2% time travelling to work, and 19% time hanging out with friends or family. Additionally, he spent 8% of his time to relaxing at home, while almost 6% time to playing sports.

On the other side, in 2008 the working figure gets 42% time of adults, which is largest in chart. Furthermore, adult spent 13% time in relaxing and 25% in sleeping, while he spent only 6% time with friends or family. In addition, travelling to work and playing sports get same percentage, at 7%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that working took the largest share in both years and correctly report most figures, including the rise in working from 33% to 42%, the fall in sleeping from 32% to 25%, and the equal 7% shares for commuting and sport in 2008. The overview also notes the smallest categories in each year. However, the account is not fully accurate: playing sports is not shown for 1958, so the claim that adults spent “almost 6%” on it is unsupported. The overview could also compare the major changes more clearly, especially the sharp decline in socialising from 19% to 6%. More selective, accurate comparisons and a clearer summary of the overall shifts would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 1958 and 2008. This makes the information easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Additionally,” and “In addition” help connect details. However, the sequence of points within the year-by-year paragraphs is somewhat list-like, and several connectors are used mechanically rather than to show meaningful relationships. “On the other side” is also an awkward transition between the two years. Grouping the figures by increases and decreases, or directly comparing corresponding activities, would create stronger progression. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly the repeated use of “he” for adults, so more precise nouns or pronouns would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the chart’s main categories, including “working,” “sleeping,” “travelling to work,” and “relaxing at home.” There are also attempts to vary expressions, such as “made up” and “portion.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “spent his time in working,” “the figure going out with friend,” and “gets 42% time of adults” make the description less fluent. “Hanging out” is understandable but informal for an academic report, and “friend” should reflect the chart’s plural category. Aim for precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “proportion,” while avoiding repeated, awkward formulations. These issues limit the range and control of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. Some sentences use comparison or contrast effectively, for example, “33% spent his time in working, while sleeping portion made up a second biggest proportion.” However, grammatical errors occur across the response. These include agreement and pronoun problems in “adults spent his time” and “he spent,” missing or incorrect articles in “sleeping portion” and “a second biggest proportion,” and faulty verb forms such as “travelling to work get smallest proportion.” The opening also contains a missing space in “adultson.” Use plural subjects consistently, check articles and verb agreement, and build more accurate comparative sentences. Greater control of these patterns would make the report smoother and clearer.

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

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