Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The two pie charts present the percentages of time spent by adults in a certain country on different activites throughout the day in 1958 and 2008.

Overall, working consumed most of the time in both years. It is also clear that the time spent with family and friend has declined dramatically.

In 1958, the work took 33% of the day, while in 2008 it increased slightly to be 42%. Relaxing at home time also increased from 8% in 1958 to 13% in 2008. Following the same trend, the travelling to work time increased form 2% in 1958 to 7% in 2008.

In contrast, the family and friends time was 19% in 1958 and dropped to just 6% in 2008. Simillarly, the sleeping time decreased from 32% in 1958 to 25% in 2008. The sports time was almost unchanged from 1958 to 2008, consuming 6% of the day in 1958 and 7% in 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You cover the main categories and make relevant comparisons across both years. The overview identifies work as the largest share in each year and highlights the sharp fall in time spent with friends and family; the figures for work, relaxation, travel, socialising and sleep are accurately reported. However, the overview could capture the overall pattern more fully by noting that work, relaxation and commuting all rose, while sleep and socialising fell. There is also a factual issue: sports is shown only for 2008, at 7%, but you report it as 6% in 1958 and describe it as almost unchanged. A more precise overview and careful handling of this category would strengthen an otherwise clear summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into a clear introduction, overview and two detail paragraphs. Grouping the increases together and then contrasting them with the decreases gives the reader a logical route through the data. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In contrast” and “Similarly” help signal these relationships, and the progression is easy to follow. To make cohesion more flexible and precise, avoid relying on broad phrases such as “Following the same trend” when simply introducing another increase; the connection between the figures is already clear. The final sentence also introduces sports without a clear comparison basis, since the chart gives no 1958 sports figure. More explicit grouping and reference to the categories would make the organisation even more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to describe the chart, with useful terms such as “declined dramatically,” “increased” and “dropped.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are awkward: “the work took 33% of the day,” “Relaxing at home time,” and “the family and friends time” are not natural ways to describe proportions. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “activites,” “form” and “Simillarly,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for concise chart language such as “accounted for,” “the proportion of time spent relaxing,” and “time spent socialising.” Check spelling carefully and use consistent category labels to make the description more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “while in 2008 it increased” and the comparison “from 8% in 1958 to 13% in 2008.” Most relationships between the figures remain clear, and errors do not prevent understanding. Some grammatical patterns are nevertheless awkward or inaccurate. For example, “the work took 33% of the day” needs a more suitable construction, while “increased slightly to be 42%” uses an unnatural infinitive pattern. Articles and noun phrases are also inconsistent in “the travelling to work time” and “the family and friends time.” Practise accurate comparison structures such as “rose from X to Y” and “the proportion of the day spent on…” to improve control.

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

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