Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-12

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 illustrates how the working adults spent their time in an particular country in the year 1958 and 2008.

overall, majority of the adults spend their time in working only in both of the years. In 1958 their second priority was to sleep but it declined over the period. same goes for the time they spend with their freinds and family . Relaxing at home and travelling for work increased in these years. these adults also started to engage themselves in sports which they were not doing before.

In 1958, working was the top most priority of the adults spending 33% of their time and sleeping was the second most activity where the spend around 32% of their time. whereas, they spend their 19% of their time to hangout with freinds and family . However, the remaining time they spent in relaxing at home and in travelling.

by 2008, several changes took place in their routine. working increased to 42% and sleeping decreased to 25%. they started spending less time with family and freinds around 6% . but they were now taking long to travel for work around 7% . moreover , new activity took place that is sports and spend 7% in this . however the remaining 13% left for their relaxation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main pattern accurately: working takes the largest share in both years and rises from 33% to 42%, while sleeping and time with friends or family decline. You also report the key 2008 figures for travel, relaxation and sport, and your overview captures the introduction of sports. This covers the task well, with the main comparisons grounded in the charts. However, some details are less fully reported: for 1958, you say only that the remaining time went to relaxation and travel, without giving their figures, and the overview could compare the scale of the changes more explicitly. Also, “majority” is not quite accurate because working is the largest category, but not more than half of the day. A more precise overview and fuller support for the smaller categories would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of 1958 and 2008. This makes the two years easy to follow, and connectors such as “whereas,” “by 2008” and “moreover” help signal comparisons and additions. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weakened by abrupt transitions and repeated contrast markers, particularly “however” in the final paragraph. Some references are also unclear: “the remaining time” does not specify which categories or figures it refers to, and “these years” is vague. Capitalisation at the start of sentences is inconsistent, which also interrupts the presentation. Use clearer links between related figures and group the categories by rising and falling shares to create a more continuous comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to describe the charts, including “declined,” “increased,” “priority” and “spending,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. There is some attempt to vary expression, for example “routine” and “engage themselves in sports.” However, several choices are imprecise or informal for an academic report: “top most priority,” “hangout,” and “taking long to travel” do not describe the proportions as naturally as “largest share,” “socialising,” and “spent a greater proportion of the day commuting.” Repetition of “spend/spending” also limits range. Spelling errors such as “freinds” are noticeable. Aim for precise chart language and check spelling, while avoiding claims about activities that go beyond what the percentages show.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and most of the intended comparisons remain understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven, with errors in articles, verb forms, agreement and sentence boundaries. Examples include “in an particular country,” “the adults spend their time,” and “the spend around 32%”; the final paragraph also shifts between past and present forms, as in “they started spending” and “they were now taking.” Several sentences begin with lowercase letters, and punctuation around clauses is inconsistent. These issues sometimes make the relationships between ideas harder to follow. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and complete sentence structures, then proofread articles, subject–verb agreement and capitalisation.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.