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 information about ratio of the day spent by working adults on various activities in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working adults spent most of thier time in working. While, least time was spent on travelling to work.

To begin with, in 1958 emloyed adults spent 33% of their time while working and this figure increased dramatically to 42% by 2008. Moreover, employed individuals spent 32% of their time in sleeping by 1958, eventually hit peaks before falling back to 25% in 2008. Similarly, in 1958 working adults spent 19% of their time while going out with friends and family reached maximum before decreased dramatically to 6% in 2008. Furthermore, employed adults only 8% of time was spent while relaxing at home, eventually reached peak 13% by 2008. Additionally, only 2% of time was spent by working adults on travelling to work in 1958, the figure increased slightly to 7% in 2008. Besides, in 1958 no time for playing sports was recorded, this pursuits accounted for 75 of an working adults daily routine in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall pattern that work took the largest share and report several relevant comparisons, including work rising from 33% to 42%, sleep falling from 32% to 25%, and socialising dropping from 19% to 6%. However, the overview is incomplete: travelling was the smallest category in 1958, but in 2008 it was tied with sport at 7%, not the least activity overall. The account also misreports sport as “75” rather than 7%, and says sleep “hit peaks” without support from the chart. A clearer overview of the major shifts, especially the sharp fall in socialising and the new sports category, would make the response more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows a generally understandable order, moving from an overview to comparisons of the activities, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Similarly,” and “Additionally” help signal relationships. However, the overview is very brief, and the body reads largely as a sequence of separate facts rather than a clearly grouped comparison of the two years. Some transitions are mechanical or do not fit the relationship: “Besides” introduces the final point without adding a clear contrast, while “While” in the overview is not correctly connected to the preceding sentence. Grouping the increases together and the decreases together, then using clearer references to each year, would create stronger progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “increased dramatically,” “accounted for,” and “daily routine,” and the activity categories are generally recognisable. However, several choices are inaccurate or awkward for describing chart data: “ratio of the day” is less suitable than “proportion of the day,” and “spent 33% of their time while working” is an unnatural collocation. “Hit peaks” is also imprecise for a figure that simply changes between two years. Spelling errors such as “thier” and “emloyed,” together with the incorrect “75,” reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural reporting verbs and check spelling and numerical figures carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “while,” “before,” and “by 2008,” but control is uneven. For example, “While, least time was spent…” is an incomplete and incorrectly punctuated construction, and “employed adults only 8% of time was spent…” has a faulty sentence structure. In “going out with friends and family reached maximum before decreased,” the verbs do not form a grammatical sequence. Articles and prepositions are also sometimes missing or inaccurate, as in “reached peak” and “spent 32% of their time in sleeping.” These errors can make some comparisons difficult to follow. Build accuracy by using straightforward subject–verb sentences before adding subordinate clauses.

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.