Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-11-01

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 pie charts below illustrate how working adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.

According to the charts "working" remained the biggest figure for the survey. It is 33% in 1958 and 42% in 2008, therefore the option "working" is not stand at the same percantage, but increased on 9%.

At the same time, despite the option "sleeping" is remained on its second place either after fifty years, part of the day which was used for sleep, later reduced on 7%. That means that working adults in 2008 in this country started sleep less comparing with the results fifty years ago. "relaxing at home" in 2008 almost 2 times higher than it was in 1958.

If we compare other figures "travelling to work","going out with friends/family" and "playing sports", it can be noted that them stood at approximately equal level (6-7%), while in 1958 section "going out with friends/family" was quite bigger than the other and stood third at all dayily activities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important comparisons accurately: working rose from 33% to 42%, sleeping fell from 32% to 25%, and relaxing at home increased from 8% to 13%. You also note that going out with friends and family was much more prominent in 1958. However, the account is only partial: it does not clearly report the 2008 figures for travelling to work, going out, or playing sports, and it overlooks that sports appears only in the 2008 chart. The claim that the three smaller categories were at approximately equal levels is imprecise, since their 2008 shares are 7%, 6%, and 7%, while the 1958 figures differ substantially. A clearer overview of the main shifts and fuller reporting of these categories would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, sensible sequence: it begins with the largest category, moves to sleeping and relaxing, and then discusses the remaining activities. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these points, and phrases such as “At the same time” and “If we compare” signal transitions. However, the progression is not fully clear because there is no concise overview of the main changes, and the final sentence groups categories from different years together without clearly separating the comparisons. Some linking is also awkward or mechanical, as in “therefore” and “That means,” which repeat the same explanation. Organise the response around an overview followed by clear comparisons between 1958 and 2008, using references that make each year and category explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “figure,” “increased,” “reduced,” and “approximately,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons you intend. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “increased on 9%,” “stood at approximately equal level,” and “third at all dayily activities.” “Percantage” and “dayily” are also spelling errors. Repeating “option” for chart categories sounds unnatural, while “started sleep less” does not express the intended comparison idiomatically. Use precise terms such as “share,” “proportion,” and “accounted for,” and check spelling and collocations. This would make the description clearer and more natural without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “despite” and a conditional comparison beginning “If we compare.” However, complex structures are often faulty: “despite the option ‘sleeping’ is remained” needs a different construction, and “relaxing at home” lacks a finite verb in its sentence. Other errors include “it is 33% … and 42%” where past-tense reporting is needed, “them stood,” and “started sleep less.” These problems sometimes make the relationships between ideas difficult to follow, although the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and sentence patterns for comparisons, and check subject–verb agreement, verb forms, and punctuation when editing.

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

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