Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

below shows the value of one country’s exports in various categories during 2015 and 2016. The table shows the percentage change in each category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The bar chart illustrate the country's exports in different categories during 2015 and 2016, measured in billion of dollars.

Overall, petroleum product's export remained higher in both years followed by engineered goods in the same period. However, textile exports in 2015 remained minimum than all other products.

In 2015, petroleum products reached 60 billion dollars export and remained as most exported product followed by engineered goods in the same year at around 55 billion dollars, whereas, gems and jewellery items export was recorded around 50 billion dollar followed by Agriculture products with approximately at 38 billion dollar but the textile product export remained minimum at around 35 billion dollars.

By 2016, the petroleum product's export surged at around 65 billion dollars and remained the highest exported product in this year also and shows 3% growth from the previous year and the engineered goods are just below this figure with 8.5% more growth from 2015 and show the export figure at around 64 billion dollars. However, the agriculture products shows 0.81% negative growth with minimum export figures of around 40 billion dollars. Moreover, Textile good's export shows the highest of 15.24% from the previous year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main features of the data and provided a clear overview. You included data for both years and made relevant comparisons, such as noting the growth percentages. However, there are some inaccuracies in your reporting. For instance, you stated that agriculture products had the 'minimum export figures' in 2016, but the data shows textile exports were lower. Additionally, your description of the 2015 textile exports as 'minimum' is accurate, but the overall summary could be more precise by highlighting the most significant trends rather than listing every figure. Ensure that your data interpretation strictly aligns with the provided table to avoid factual errors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'however', and 'moreover' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by grouping the data more effectively—perhaps by category or by comparing the two years more fluidly. The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences in the second body paragraph is occasionally repetitive, as you rely heavily on 'and' to connect clauses. Improving the variety of your linking phrases would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'surged', 'recorded', and 'growth'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and incorrect word forms, such as 'petroleum product's export' (possessive error) and 'remained minimum' (should be 'remained the lowest'). You also use 'minimum' where 'lowest' or 'smallest' would be more natural. While you attempt to use specific terminology, the lack of precision in word choice and some repetitive phrasing limit your score. Expanding your repertoire of reporting verbs and adjectives would help you achieve a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('The bar chart illustrate', 'agriculture products shows') and incorrect use of apostrophes for plurals ('product's', 'good's'). There are also minor errors in preposition usage and article placement. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they are frequent enough to impact the overall fluency of the writing. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and pluralization will significantly improve your accuracy.

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