Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-11

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 gives information on how employed adults in particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working contributes to a vast proportion in both years. Sleeping contributes the second largest in both years consectively. Although in 1958 alot of working individuals would spend their time and go out with thier respective friends and families comparing to 2008. In year 2008 aults seems more likely to spend their time in relaxing at home then in 1958.

In year 1958, working adults spend 33% of thier time working and around 32% of their time in sleeping. Furthermore, it seems that working individuals in 1958 spend around 19% of their time with friends and family, around 8% relaxing at home and 2% for traveling to work.

Consequently, In year 2008 working contributes 42% and 25% for sleeping which is rather less comparing in 1958. One fact that they started to spend less time with their friends and families around 6% and spend 7% of their time in playing sports and 7% is spent for travelling to work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that working takes the largest share in both years and accurately report several key figures, including work (33% to 42%), sleep (32% to 25%), and time with friends and family (19% to 6%). You also note the rise in relaxing at home and commuting. This covers the task with relevant comparisons, but some features are less fully presented: the overview does not mention the new sports category in 2008, and the comparison of socialising is awkwardly expressed, making the trend less clear. The statement that sleeping is the second largest category in both years is not accurate for 2008, when relaxing at home is 13% and exceeds sleeping only? Actually sleeping at 25% remains second, so this is correct. To strengthen the response, make the overview more precise and clearly summarise the most notable increases and decreases.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing each year. This helps the reader follow the information, and phrases such as “Furthermore” and “Consequently” signal additions and a shift to 2008. However, progression within the overview is uneven: the sentence beginning “Although in 1958” is difficult to connect to the preceding point, and “Consequently” does not express a clear cause-and-effect relationship. Some references, such as “they” in the final paragraph, are also unclear. Grouping the main changes by category—for example, increases in work and commuting, then decreases in sleep and socialising—would create a clearer comparison across the two charts and make linking more purposeful.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “proportion,” “spend their time,” “relaxing at home,” and “travelling to work,” so the main information is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices are imprecise or unnatural: “working contributes” does not clearly describe a share of the day, while “the second largest” needs a noun such as “category.” Repetition of “spend” and “time” also makes the report less flexible. Spelling errors such as “consectively,” “thier,” and “aults” are noticeable and reduce accuracy. Aim for precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “percentage,” and check spelling carefully. More accurate collocations would make the comparisons clearer and more appropriate to an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast introduced by “Although” and the comparison “which is rather less comparing in 1958.” The main figures and relationships can usually be understood, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect fluency. For example, “The pie charts gives” should use a plural verb, and “in particular country” needs an article. “Working adults spend” shifts into the present tense when describing past data, while “25% for sleeping” is not a complete parallel construction. The overview’s “Although” clause is also left without a clear main clause. Use consistent past-tense reporting and check that each complex sentence has a complete, logically connected structure.

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

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