Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-25

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 two pie charts compare how working adults in a particular country spent their time between 1958 and 2008.

Overall, propotion of working always remained largest spending time of adults, while adults declined spenting time on sleeping and surprisingly, they spent more time on relaxing at home over the period.

In 1958, adults most of their daily time liked to spend on working and sleeping. Working activity holds 33% of their daily time and sleeping holds 32%. They also spent their time on friends and family which holds only 19%. Moreover, they spent very tiny time on relaxing at home (8%). They also spent sometimes on travelling to work.

In 2008, adults developed their time on working which stands 42% of their daily activity. However, they reduced their sleeping time which declined at 25% from 32%. They spent more time on relaxing at home (8% to 13&) from before. Compared to 1958, in 2008 adults spent a very tiny time on their friends and family. They also same time spent on playing sport and travelling to work which were 7% of their daily activity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main changes: working takes the largest share in both years and rises from 33% to 42%, while sleeping falls from 32% to 25%. You also report the increase in relaxing at home and the decline in time with friends and family. These are relevant comparisons and give the response a clear overview. However, some details are incomplete or imprecise: travelling to work is not quantified for 1958, and the 2008 figures for friends and family (6%) and relaxing at home (13%) could be stated directly rather than described as “very tiny” or through a range. Playing sports is mentioned, but its absence from the 1958 chart is not made clear. More precise coverage of these features would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 1958 and 2008. This makes the two years easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Moreover,” and “Compared to 1958” help signal relationships. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “They also same time spent on playing sport and travelling to work” does not clearly explain that both activities account for 7% in 2008, while “from before” is an imprecise reference. The overview also combines several trends without clearly distinguishing the major changes. Use more precise comparisons and refer explicitly to the relevant year or category to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing charts, including “compare,” “declined,” “stands,” and “daily time,” and the reader can generally understand the categories and trends. There are also attempts to vary wording rather than repeat the chart labels throughout. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “propotion of working,” “adults developed their time on working,” and “spent sometimes on travelling.” “Holds” is also not the most suitable verb for reporting percentages. These choices sometimes make the description less precise, even though the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Aim for standard chart language such as “accounted for,” “rose,” and “spent time travelling,” and check spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast with “while” and “However,” and most of the main comparisons remain understandable. Some grammatical errors nevertheless affect clarity. For example, “adults declined spenting time on sleeping” has an incorrect verb pattern, and “Working activity holds 33% of their daily time” shifts tense and has an awkward subject–verb construction. In “They also same time spent,” the word order prevents the sentence from forming a clear clause. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and punctuation, including “a very tiny time” and the ampersand in “13&.” Practise accurate past-tense reporting and complete sentence patterns while retaining your attempts at varied structures.

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

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