Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-10

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 5.5)

The bar graph compares the average numbers of hours per week of women different age groups and different level of education qualifications spent on three different activities - working or work related activities, leisure & sports and household activities in 2009.

Overall, women who aged 75 or above spent their mostly time on leisure & sports, while households activities accounted mostly by the women aged 65 to 74. Meanwhile, women aged 45 to 54 spent their mostly time on working. In term of education, women who had bachelor's degree or higher spent their mostly time on leisure & sports, while who are studied less than high school diploma spent least time on working.

At a fleeting glance, women aged 24 to 54 spent average 26 hours per week on work, after it had steadily downfall coming to age 75 or more. By contrast, leisure time was highest among old women, at 51.1 hours while comparing to 26.3 hours by the women aged 35 to 44. Households time was increasing slowly from women aged 15 to 64 which later decline by the old women.

Meanwhile, women who studied less than high school diploma spent their mostly time on leisure and sports. Women who only studied till high school spent their least time on working. Women who studied in college or associate degree spent most time on leisure and sports. Women who had bachelor degree or higher spent their mostly time on working and leisure at 27.4 and 28.6 hours per week.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s three activities and provide an overview, including the high leisure figure among the oldest women and the rise in household activity with age. However, several key comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. Women aged 45–54 do not spend the most time working; the working figure peaks at 27 hours among women aged 25–34 and 45–54, while the 75-and-over group records the lowest figure. The overview also misstates the education comparison: women with a bachelor’s degree or higher spend the most time working and the least time on leisure, not the most time on leisure. Some details, such as the education-group trends, are reported selectively. Check the chart carefully and make the overview reflect its main patterns accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs that separate age from educational attainment. This makes the main topic easy to follow. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “By contrast,” and “Meanwhile” help signal relationships, although some transitions are mechanical or do not introduce a clear contrast. The age paragraph moves from work to leisure and then household activity, while the education paragraph lists groups without a consistent comparison pattern. Organise each paragraph around a clear trend—for example, describe all three activities across age groups before comparing education levels—and use references such as “this figure” only when their meaning is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “average,” “accounted,” “decline,” and “spent,” and the activity labels are generally clear. However, several word choices and collocations are noticeably inaccurate, sometimes making the intended comparison harder to understand. Examples include “spent their mostly time,” “households activities,” “at a fleeting glance,” and “steadily downfall.” “Women who aged” and “women who are studied” also show difficulty selecting appropriate forms. Aim for precise, conventional language for describing data, such as “spent the most time,” “household activities,” “at a glance,” and “declined steadily.” Avoid using elaborate phrases when a straightforward expression is more accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons introduced by “while” and “whereas”-type contrasts, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently in basic sentence construction and verb forms. For example, “women who aged 75 or above” needs a grammatical relative clause, and “women aged 24 to 54 spent average” is missing an article or adverbial form. In “while households activities accounted mostly by,” the passive construction is incomplete, and “which later decline” has an inconsistent verb form. Subject–verb agreement and articles also need attention. Practise building accurate comparison sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; check each sentence for a complete verb phrase and consistent tense.

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