Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-09

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 charts illustrate utilization of time by working people between 1958 and 2008. Overall, the charts showed mixed changes. Specially in working and going out the family category. At the same, there is also a new category added in 2008 as playing sports which wasn’t available in 1958. Nowadays professional people spend 42% of their time on working previously it was 33%. Moreover, sleeping encountered a steady decrease which accounted 32% to 25%. Relaxing at home becomes popular over the period and showed growth in percentage by 5%. However, in 1958 people travelled less compare to 2008 and in 2008 it showed a notable growth by 5%. In recent days, people started to manage time for playing sports, they spend 7% of their combined time for it in 2008. Furthermore, there is a noticeable boost in working hours while going out with friends and family faced remarkable decline in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes accurately: working rises from 33% to 42%, sleeping falls from 32% to 25%, relaxing at home increases by five percentage points, and sports appears at 7% in 2008. You also note the sharp decline in going out with friends and family. This gives the reader a relevant account of the charts, but the overview is vague: “mixed changes” does not clearly summarise the main pattern, and the decline in socialising is not quantified (19% to 6%). The travel comparison is also described only as a “notable growth by 5%,” rather than giving the figures. A clearer overview and more precise reporting of the largest changes would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response includes an opening, an overview attempt and several comparisons, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “However” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships. However, the ideas are presented as one continuous paragraph, so the overview and supporting details are not clearly separated. Progression is also uneven: the opening overview is interrupted by “Specially in working and going out the family category,” and the final sentence repeats the increase in working and decline in going out rather than adding a new detail. Some links feel mechanical or unclear, particularly “At the same.” Organise the response into a brief introduction and overview followed by grouped comparisons, and use transitions only where they clarify the relationship between points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “accounted,” “notable growth,” “decline” and “category,” and the main comparisons remain understandable. There are, however, several inaccurate or unnatural choices that reduce precision. “Utilization of time” is less natural here than “time spent,” while “sleeping encountered a steady decrease” and “spend 7% of their combined time” are awkward collocations. “Specially” is also not the right form for introducing a particular point. Aim for natural chart language such as “the proportion spent sleeping fell” and “adults devoted 7% of their day to sport.” More precise phrasing will help your vocabulary sound controlled rather than merely varied.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the contrast in “Nowadays professional people spend 42% … previously it was 33%” and the clause beginning “while going out with friends and family…”. Most of the intended meaning can be followed, but some errors affect accuracy. For example, “the charts showed” shifts into past tense even though the charts present data, and “sleeping … accounted 32% to 25%” lacks the correct grammatical pattern (“fell from 32% to 25%”). The sentence “Specially in working and going out the family category” is incomplete, and “people travelled less compare to 2008” has an incorrect verb form. Check tense consistency, sentence completeness and the grammatical patterns used to describe changes.

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

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