Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-08-19

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 6.5)

The bar chart illustrates the average weekly hours American women devoted to work, leisure, and household activities in 2009, broken down by age group and educational attainment.

Overall, working hours peaked in the middle of women's careers before declining sharply in later life, while household activities showed the opposite trend, and higher education was generally linked with more time spent working and less on housework.

Work-related hours rose steadily from just 6.9 among 15-19years-olds to a peak of 44 hours for those aged 65-74, before falling to 21.7 for the over-75s. Household activities followed a reserves pattern, climbing from 10 hours among 20-24 years-old's to 21.1 among 65-74 year-olds. Leisure time remained comparatively stable, ranging between roughly 16 and 33 hours across most age brackets.

Regarding education, women with a bachelor's degree spent considerably more time working (28.6 hours) but far less on household chores (15.2 hours) than those without a high school diploma, who recorded just 20 hours of work but 43.5 hours of housework.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response effectively addresses all parts of the task. You have provided a clear overview of the main trends and selected relevant data points to support your summary. The comparison between age groups and educational levels is well-integrated. However, there is a significant factual error in the data interpretation: you stated that working hours peaked at 44 hours for those aged 65-74, whereas the chart likely shows this peak in a younger demographic (e.g., 35-44 or 45-54). Accuracy in data reporting is crucial for a high band score. Aside from this, the selection of features is logical and covers the requirements well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group information by category (age and education). The progression of ideas is smooth, and you use cohesive devices such as 'Overall,' 'Regarding,' and 'while' effectively to link sentences. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main analytical focuses. The flow is natural, and the referencing is clear throughout the text, making the information easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey information with precision. Phrases like 'educational attainment,' 'comparatively stable,' and 'devoted to' show a good command of academic register. There are a few minor errors, such as 'reserves pattern' (likely meant 'reverse pattern') and 'years-old's' (incorrect apostrophe usage). These do not impede communication, but they prevent the response from reaching the highest band. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would further enhance your lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. You demonstrate good control over grammar, with most sentences being error-free. However, there are a few punctuation and grammatical slips, such as the incorrect use of the apostrophe in 'years-old's' and '15-19years-old'. Additionally, the phrase 'reserves pattern' is grammatically incorrect in this context. Despite these minor slips, the majority of your sentences are accurate, and your control of complex structures is generally sound.

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

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