Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The following pie chart shows percentages of the day spent by working adults on various activities.

Activities include playing sports, working, sleeping, relaxing at home, travelling to work and going out with friends and family.

Firstly, it is noticed that 7 percent of the day spent is on playing sports only in 2008 and no percentage is available in 1958. That means that the working adult in 1958 did not play any sports. Secondly, time spent going out with friends/family has been significantly reduced from 19 percent in 1958 to 6 percent in 2008. Thirdly, time spent travelling to work has been increased meaning that even with the evolution of transport and roads the time spent has been increased.

Fourthly, the time spent sleeping has decreased meaning that a working adult in 2008 is getting around 6 hours of sleep daily while the other was getting 7 percent more than that. Fifthly, we have noticed a rise in the relaxing at home part by 5 percent. Lastly, the time spent working has been increased 9 percent meaning that work life balance might be disturbed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes accurately: working rose from 33% to 42%, sleeping fell from 32% to 25%, and time spent going out dropped from 19% to 6%. However, the response lacks a clear overall summary of the main pattern, such as the rise in work and the decline in sleep and socialising. Some interpretations are unsupported or inaccurate: no sports figure in 1958 does not prove adults did not play sports, and the chart gives no basis for attributing longer commutes to transport or roads. The sleep comparison is also unclear: the figures represent shares of the day, not hours, and the difference is seven percentage points. Covering the main trends more clearly and avoiding speculation would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged in a generally understandable sequence, and the ordinal markers (“Firstly” through “Lastly”) help readers follow the list of activities. However, this repeated listing feels mechanical and does not create a clear progression from an overview to grouped comparisons. The opening only names the chart and its categories, rather than summarising the most significant changes. Several points are presented as separate observations when they could be grouped—for example, the increases in working, commuting and relaxing, followed by declines in sleeping and socialising. Some links also connect data to unsupported explanations, such as “meaning that even with the evolution of transport and roads.” A concise overview and more purposeful grouping would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “percentages,” “significantly reduced,” “decreased,” and “rise,” and the activity labels are mostly clear. Some phrasing is imprecise or repetitive, however. “The time spent travelling to work has been increased” is an awkward collocation; “increased” is more natural without “been” here. “The relaxing at home part” is informal and vague, while “the other” does not clearly identify the adults in 1958. The repeated use of “time spent” and “meaning that” also limits flexibility. Choose precise chart-reporting expressions such as “accounted for,” “rose by,” and “fell to,” and use “percentage points” when describing differences between percentages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple statements and more complex clauses, including “That means that…” and “meaning that…,” and the main comparisons are generally understandable. Some grammatical choices are inaccurate or awkward. In “time spent travelling to work has been increased,” the passive form is not appropriate for this change; write “the proportion travelling to work increased.” The sentence about sleeping—“the other was getting 7 percent more than that”—has an unclear reference and an incomplete comparison structure. Also, “7 percent of the day spent is on playing sports” is awkwardly constructed; a clearer form is “7% of the day was spent playing sports.” More controlled comparative sentences and clearer references would strengthen accuracy.

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

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