Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-20

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 4.0)

The part chart illlustrates the percentages of time that working adults spent on various activities in a particular country in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working and sleeping accounted for the largest proportions of peaopl,s time in2008. the percenatge of time spent working increased considereably over the 50 year period, while the prportioon allocated

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The opening identifies the chart topic and the two years, and the overview begins to note that working and sleeping were major activities in 2008 and that working increased. However, the response stops mid-sentence (“while the prportioon allocated”), so it does not complete the overview or report meaningful comparisons across the charts. It also omits key figures and activities, including the fall in sleeping from 32% to 25%, the sharp decline in going out from 19% to 6%, and the appearance of sports and travel at 7% each in 2008. The response is only 53 words, below the required 150, leaving the task minimally addressed. Complete the overview and select several accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt at organisation: an introductory sentence is followed by a separate overview beginning with “Overall,” which gives the reader a recognisable structure. The ideas are also broadly relevant to the chart. However, the response ends abruptly in the middle of a clause, so the progression is incomplete and the relationship between the two years is not developed. There are no supporting detail paragraphs or comparisons to guide the reader through the data. To improve, use a complete overview followed by one or two logically ordered paragraphs grouping the main changes, and use simple links such as “by contrast” or “whereas” where they clarify comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some appropriate chart vocabulary, including “percentages,” “accounted for,” “proportions,” and “increased,” showing an attempt to describe data rather than relying only on everyday language. However, spelling errors such as “illlustrates,” “peaopl,s,” “percenatge,” and “prportioon” are frequent enough to distract, and the unfinished phrase prevents the intended vocabulary from being understood. The range is also very limited because the response contains little description of the categories or changes. Build a small bank of accurate terms for proportions and comparisons, and proofread spelling carefully; for example, use “rose considerably” or “declined” to report the main movements precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The first sentence is a complete, understandable sentence, and the overview makes an attempt at a more complex structure with “while.” This shows some ability to connect ideas. However, the second sentence is unfinished after “while the…,” leaving the clause without a completed comparison and making the overall grammatical control difficult to assess. The response also has inconsistent capitalisation after the full stop (“the”) and lacks a completed sentence structure for the final idea. Write complete sentences before attempting longer comparisons, and check sentence boundaries and capital letters. For example, finish the contrast with a clear subject and verb: “while the proportion spent sleeping fell.”

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

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