Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-29

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)

This pie chart illustrate the information about working adults, how they spend their time in the year 1958 and 2008.

In 1958 a normal adult worker spend 33% of his / her day while working , 32% of day while sleeping, 7% of their time playing different sports ,19% of the time they usually spend with their family and friends while only 2% of time they uses while travelling to work and lastly 8% of their time they spend while resting at home.

In 2008 working days are bigger than 1958 so adults spend more time around 42% of their working, their sleeping time has decreased and become 25% , while their relaxing time increased a bit and become 13%, whilst playing time is same , although traveling time increase and become 7% of the day, whereas time they spend with their family and friend going outside with them is decreased and become 6%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify both years and report several key figures accurately, including working (33% to 42%), sleeping (32% to 25%), relaxing at home (8% to 13%), and travel (2% to 7%). You also note the sharp fall in time spent going out with friends and family. However, the account is mainly a list of figures rather than a clear summary of the main patterns, and there is no distinct overview highlighting the broad shift towards work and away from socialising and sleep. A significant factual error is saying that sports took 7% in 1958; the chart shows no sports category for that year, while sports appears at 7% in 2008. Clarify this distinction and prioritise the overall trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows a generally understandable order: it describes 1958 first and then compares the figures with 2008. This gives the reader a basic progression, and linking expressions such as “while,” “although,” and “whereas” help connect contrasts. However, the first paragraph packs many activities into one long sentence, making the information difficult to scan. The second paragraph also combines several comparisons without clear grouping, and “playing time is same” is unclear because the chart gives no sports figure for 1958. Use separate, focused sentences and organise related changes together—for example, increases in work and travel, followed by decreases in sleep and socialising. A concise overview would also strengthen the progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main categories, including “working,” “sleeping,” “relaxing,” and “travelling.” Some variation in phrasing, such as “decreased” and “increased,” also helps describe change. However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for a chart report: “working days are bigger” does not accurately describe the percentage, and “spend more time around 42% of their working” is awkward. Repeated use of “time” and “spend” limits flexibility, while “playing time” is vague and contributes to the mistaken comparison. Choose precise terms such as “the proportion of the day,” “rose to,” and “fell to,” and use the chart’s category labels consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with subordinate clauses, so there is some structural variety. The main comparisons are usually understandable, but errors are frequent and sometimes make the relationships between figures unclear. For example, “This pie chart illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, and “a normal adult worker spend” uses the wrong verb form. The long sentence beginning “In 1958” contains several clauses joined with commas, creating faulty punctuation and sentence boundaries. In the 2008 paragraph, “their relaxing time increased a bit and become 13%” shifts tense and has an unclear construction. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and agreement, and divide long lists into shorter sentences with clear comparisons.

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

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