Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-28

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 pie charts compare the proportion of the day spent by working adults on several activities in one country in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working, relaxing at home, playing sports and travelling to work ratios increased, while going out with friends/family and sleeping figure dropped over the year.

In 1958, adults spend

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You identify the chart’s subject and provide an overview of several changes, including the rise in working and travel and the falls in sleeping and socialising. However, the response stops after “In 1958, adults spend” and gives no supporting figures or comparisons, so the main features are not adequately reported. The overview also incorrectly says that playing sports increased: it appears only in the 2008 chart, at 7%, with no 1958 figure to compare. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the task only minimally addressed. To improve, complete the account with accurate figures for both years and compare the largest changes, such as working rising from 33% to 42% and going out falling from 19% to 6%.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The opening sentence establishes the topic, and the separate overview paragraph gives the response a basic, recognisable structure. The use of “Overall” also signals a summary rather than a detail. However, the final paragraph begins “In 1958” and then breaks off, so the information has no progression beyond the overview and the response feels incomplete. There are no developed comparisons or linking phrases to guide the reader through the data. Build a clear sequence: introduce the charts, summarise the main trends, then report the 1958 and 2008 figures in a logical comparison. Completing the final paragraph would make the organisation more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “activities,” “increased,” and “dropped,” and the meaning of the overview is generally understandable. However, the range is limited by the very short response, and some word combinations are unnatural: “ratios increased” is not an appropriate way to describe percentages of time, while “sleeping figure dropped” is awkward. Prefer precise terms such as “shares” or “proportions,” and say that the percentage of time spent sleeping “fell.” The phrase “over the year” is also unsuitable for a comparison spanning 1958 to 2008; “over the period” would be more accurate. More varied, accurate language is needed to describe the chart data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The first sentence is a complete, clear sentence, and the overview uses a contrast structure with “while” to connect opposing trends. However, the response provides too little evidence of grammatical range, and the final sentence is unfinished: “In 1958, adults spend” has no object or completed idea. There is also a tense error in “adults spend,” where the past simple “spent” is needed to describe the 1958 data. The phrase “sleeping figure dropped” also lacks a grammatical determiner before “figure” (for example, “the figure for sleeping”). Aim to complete each sentence and use past-tense forms consistently when reporting the historical charts.

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