Band 8.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-07-31

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar chart below shows the average number of hours that women in various age groups and women with varying levels of education spend on primary activities each week.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Average hours per week women spent in selected primary activities, by age and educational attainment, 2009

Student answer (Band 8.5)

The bar chart compares the average number of hours per week that women spent on working and work-related activities, leisure and sports, and household activities across different age groups and educational attainment levels in 2009.

Overall, women in the oldest age groups devoted the most time to leisure and sports, whereas younger women spent considerably more time on work-related activities. Household activities generally occupied a moderate amount of time across all groups, while women with higher educational qualifications tended to spend more time working and less time on leisure

Turning first to the age groups, women aged 15–19 spent the greatest amount of time on work-related activities, while this figure generally declined with age. By contrast, leisure and sports became increasingly common among older women, reaching the highest level in the oldest age category. Household activities remained comparatively stable, with only moderate variation across the age groups.

Regarding educational attainment, women with a bachelor’s degree or higher devoted the most time to work-related activities, whereas those with lower levels of education spent relatively fewer hours working. Leisure and sports showed the opposite pattern, while time allocated to household activities varied only slightly among the educational groups.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response effectively addresses all parts of the task. You have provided a clear overview of the main trends and successfully selected and reported key features from the data. The comparisons between age groups and educational levels are well-integrated and supported by the data provided. The information is accurate and covers the requirements of the prompt comprehensively. To reach a higher band, ensure that you include specific data points (e.g., specific hour figures) to further substantiate your descriptions, as this would provide more precision to your analysis of the bar chart.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.5

The response is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving from an introduction and overview to specific details regarding age and education. Cohesive devices such as 'Turning first to', 'By contrast', and 'Regarding' are used effectively to guide the reader through the information. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the flow between sentences is smooth. The structure is coherent and easy to follow throughout the entire response.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey information with precision. Phrases like 'educational attainment', 'devoted the most time', and 'comparatively stable' are used appropriately. The vocabulary is natural and fits the academic context of the task well. There are no significant errors in word choice or collocation. To improve further, you could incorporate more sophisticated or varied synonyms for 'time' or 'activities' to enhance the lexical variety, though the current range is already quite effective for this task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.5

The response exhibits a good range of complex sentence structures, such as the use of subordinate clauses ('while this figure generally declined with age') and participial phrases. The grammar is accurate, and there are no errors that impede communication. The majority of your sentences are error-free, showing good control over punctuation and tense usage. The writing is fluent and demonstrates a high level of grammatical competence, which is consistent with the requirements for a high band score.

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