Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-03
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In many countries not enough students are choosing to study science at university. What are the causes of this? What effects does it have on society?
Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 4.5)
This pie charts compare the rate of time working adults spent on different activities in a particular country in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, adults spend the majority of their time each day working. While personal and social activities tend to decline beyond 50 years.
In 1958, the predominant time-consuming activity for adults was work, accounting for 33% of their day. This percentage surged to 42% in 2008, indicates the substantial rise in the rate of time adults spent on work over a period of 20 years from 1958 to 2008. Concurrently, the time allocated to pursuing interests or engaging in sports experienced a modest increase from 6% to 8% between the two years. Moreover, time spent on travel to work saw a substantial rise, which quadrupled from 2% in 1958 to 8% in 2008. Similarly, the proportion of time dedicated to relaxing at home rose from 8% in 1958 to 13% in 2008.
Conversely, the time spent on sleeping saw a minor decrease from 32% in 1958 to 25% in 2008. Furthermore, the time spent on socializing or spending time with friends and family notably declined from 19% in 1958 to merely 6% in 2008.
In conclusion, the analysis reveals a significant transformation in the time distribution of working adults, with a notable inclination towards work-related engagements at the expense of personal and social endeavors.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0
The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for an essay discussing the causes and effects of students not choosing to study science at university. However, the student has written a report describing two pie charts about the time-use of working adults in 1958 and 2008. Because the response does not address the task question at all, it fails to meet the requirements of the prompt. Additionally, the response is under the 250-word minimum, which further impacts the score. To improve, you must carefully read the prompt to ensure you are answering the specific question asked rather than describing data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is logically organized as a report, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'In 1958', 'Concurrently', 'Moreover', and 'Conversely' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different trends. While the content is irrelevant to the prompt, the structure itself is coherent and follows a standard format for an IELTS Academic Task 1 report. If the content had matched the prompt, this would be a much higher-scoring section.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for describing data, including terms like 'predominant', 'accounting for', 'surged', 'modest increase', and 'notable inclination'. There are no significant spelling errors, and the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly. However, because the vocabulary is applied to the wrong task, it does not demonstrate the ability to discuss complex social issues or causes and effects as required by the actual prompt. The lexical range is adequate for a descriptive task but lacks the depth required for an argumentative essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'This pie charts compare' (subject-verb agreement) and 'indicates the substantial rise' (should be 'indicating'). Despite these, the meaning is generally clear. The control of punctuation is acceptable, and the sentence variety is sufficient for a short piece of writing. The errors present are not frequent enough to impede communication, but the grammatical complexity is limited, which would prevent a higher score even if the content were relevant.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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