Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-14

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)

A survey was done on the working adults to find a way they spend their day in a particular country 1958 and 2008. The given pie charts are the comparative analysis of these individuals in different time period. As the pie charts illustrate, most of the individuals in year 1958 and 2008 were found spending most of their day at working, which was about 32% and 42% respectively. The lowest percentages were found among those people who used to travel to their work places, which was 2% in 1958 and 7% in 2008. Comparing between the years, days spent with friends and family or any social gathering is declining enormously from 19% in 1985 to 6% in 2008, as shown in the pie charts. Furthermore, the individuals spending rest of their day relaxing at home were found more in the year 2008 as compared to 1958, which was 13% and 8%, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant comparisons, including working as the largest category in both years and the rise in working time from 33% to 42%. You also report the changes in travel and relaxing at home. However, the overview is incomplete: sleeping fell from 32% to 25%, and going out with friends or family dropped from 19% to 6%, both important features that deserve clear coverage. The response also misdates the earlier social figure as 1985 rather than 1958, and calls travel the lowest category even though sports at 7% ties it for the lowest in 2008. A fuller, more accurate summary of the main changes would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a generally understandable order: it introduces the charts, compares working and travel, then discusses socialising and relaxing at home. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “Comparing between the years” help signal relationships between points. However, the information is presented as one continuous paragraph, and there is no distinct overview to guide the reader through the main trends. Some connections are also awkward or unclear, particularly “Comparing between the years, days spent with friends and family…” A clearer paragraph structure and more direct transitions between the overview and supporting comparisons would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “pie charts,” “percentages,” “declining,” and “relaxing at home,” so the main subject is clear. However, several phrases are unnatural or imprecise for describing chart data: “a way they spend their day,” “comparative analysis of these individuals,” and “most of their day at working.” “Social gathering” also does not precisely represent the chart category of going out with friends or family. Aim for concise, conventional reporting language and accurate category labels, such as “time spent working” and “the proportion who went out with friends or family.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including a longer comparison beginning “Comparing between the years,” and most of the message remains understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven. The opening has an incomplete or awkward construction (“A survey was done on the working adults to find a way they spend their day”), and “in different time period” lacks the appropriate plural form and article. The phrase “most of their day at working” also shows difficulty forming the complement after “spend.” There are punctuation and spacing issues, including extra spaces before “were.” Use simpler, well-controlled reporting sentences first, then add complex comparisons with accurate clause structure.

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