Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-23
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)
How the working people in a specifc country pass their time in 1589, and 2008 is provided in the pie chart.
Overall, it shows the people were engaged in work the most in 1958 as well as 2008.Meanwhile,moving to work, and traveling out with friends and family was least preffered activities in 1958 and 2008 respectively. While sports activites were stay same throughout.
Starting with the activity of work,it escalated from 33% to 42%, while chilling at home jumps from 8% to 13% , and moving out to work also reached 7% from 2%.
Activity like sleeping dropped from 32% to 25%.Traveling with friends and family reached the figure of 6% from 19%.
Sports activities,remained same in 1958 and 2008
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You identify several important changes, including work rising from 33% to 42%, sleeping falling from 32% to 25%, and time spent going out with friends and family dropping from 19% to 6%. The overview also correctly notes that work was the largest category in both years. However, the response is incomplete: it is 120 words, below the required 150, and the claim that sports activities “remained same” is unsupported because sports appears only in the 2008 chart, at 7%. The overview’s statement that travelling to work and socialising were the least preferred activities is broadly relevant, but the comparison could be clearer. Include the 2008 sports figure and develop the main comparisons more fully.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing changes. This helps the reader follow the main categories, and words such as “Overall,” “while,” and “Starting with” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is limited because the details are presented as a short list rather than grouped into clear comparisons. The final sentence about sports is isolated and repeats an inaccurate point instead of completing the comparison. Some punctuation spacing also makes the flow less smooth, as in “2008.Meanwhile,moving” and “25%.Traveling.” Group the increases together and the decreases together, then use clear linking phrases and consistent paragraphing to make the progression more coherent.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some relevant vocabulary for describing chart data, including “escalated,” “dropped,” and “reached,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or informal for an academic report. “Chilling at home” is too conversational, while “moving out to work” does not clearly express commuting. “Traveling with friends and family” changes the chart’s meaning: the category is going out with friends or family. There are also spelling errors such as “specifc,” “preffered,” and “activites.” Choose precise chart labels, use neutral reporting language, and check spelling so that vocabulary errors do not distract from the data.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt a few different sentence patterns, including a comparison with “while” and a passive construction in the introduction. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. For example, “How the working people … pass their time … is provided” has an unnatural structure, and “sports activities were stay same” combines incompatible verb forms. The sentence beginning “Meanwhile” is also not properly punctuated or constructed. There are missing spaces after full stops, and the opening sentence uses an incorrect year. Practise forming direct introductory sentences and accurate past-tense comparisons, such as “The proportion spent on work rose from … to …,” and proofread sentence boundaries.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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