Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-22

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 illustrate the proportions of how job holders in a specific country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.

In 1958, the adult employees had two major activities, which are woking and sleeping. That's why the major section of pie chart in 1958 is working which is 33% and the other one is sleeping which is 32%. then comes the outing with family or friends which covers the 19% portion of pie chart, following that the other occupation was relaxing at home because it occupies 8% of total. Then the least time was spent on travelling to work which is just 2% of total time.

However, in 2008 the most time spent by adult employees was on work because it occupies 42% of their total time. After that 25% time of the day was spent on sleeping, following that 13% of the day was used for relaxing at home. The reamianing day was spent on various activities like 7% was spent on travelling to work and playing sports respectively. The least occupation was going out with family or friend which just took 6% of total time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two years and report several key figures accurately, including work rising from 33% to 42%, sleep falling from 32% to 25%, and travel increasing from 2% to 7%. However, the response mainly lists activities year by year and does not provide a clear overview of the most important changes across the period. The charts show a notable shift away from sleeping and socialising towards work, travel and sport; the 2008 addition of sport is also worth highlighting. Some descriptions are imprecise: calling work and sleep “two major activities” is reasonable, but the response does not compare their changing shares directly, and “the remaining day” is misleading because the listed activities do not account for all time. A concise overview and more selective comparisons would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is divided into two clear paragraphs, one for each year, and the reader can generally follow the sequence of activities. Linking expressions such as “However,” “After that,” and “following that” help connect details. However, the organisation is largely a repeated list rather than a progression that compares the charts, and several transitions are mechanical or awkward, particularly the repeated “following that.” The opening paragraph also moves from the largest categories to smaller ones without a clear comparative thread. Grouping the main increases and decreases, then supporting them with figures, would create stronger progression. Use linking words selectively and make references such as “the other one” more specific so the relationships between figures remain clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing charts, including “proportions,” “occupies,” “covers,” and “spent,” and the activity labels are mostly communicated clearly. There is some repetition of “time,” “spent,” and “total,” while a few choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task: “occupation” refers to a job rather than an activity, and “major section of pie chart” is an awkward description. Spelling errors such as “woking” and “reamianing” also reduce accuracy. Aim for a more precise range of chart language, such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “percentage,” and use “activity” or “category” when referring to leisure pursuits. These improvements would make the vocabulary more natural and precise without requiring unnecessarily complex wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You produce a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences with subordinate clauses, for example, “After that 25% time of the day was spent on sleeping, following that 13% of the day was used for relaxing at home.” The main information is usually understandable, but some sentence structures and punctuation are not controlled consistently. In “the adult employees had two major activities, which are woking and sleeping,” the tense shifts from past to present; “then” also begins a sentence without appropriate capitalisation. Several clauses are joined with commas or linking phrases where clearer sentence boundaries would help. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and vary sentence patterns while keeping each comparison grammatically complete. For instance, state that a share “was spent on” an activity, rather than using a fragment-like sequence of percentages.

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.