Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-22

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 given table represents the percentage change in various categories of export in 2016 compared with 2015. Value of petroleum products has increased by 3% in 2016 in comparison with the previous year. Engineered goods' cost rose by 8.5%. Agricultural products and textiles value also went up by 0.81% and 15.24% respectively. The revenue of Gems and jewellery export decreased by 5.18%.

It is clear from the given table that the highest increase in values was observed in textile's export whereas the lowest increase was in Agricultural products. The only export that observed a downfall in the year 2016 was Gems and jewellery.

To summarize, the overall highest export was petroleum product in 2016 whereas the lowest export was agricultural products and textiles during the same year.

In the year 2015, highest export remains petroleum products as compared to the other ones, whereas, on the other hand, lowest export was of textiles.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the task by identifying the percentage changes in export categories. However, the summary is problematic. The student attempts to discuss the 'overall highest' and 'lowest' exports in 2016 and 2015, but the provided table only displays percentage changes, not the absolute export values. Consequently, the student makes unsupported claims about which categories had the highest or lowest total export values. This misinterpretation of the data significantly impacts the accuracy of the report. While the percentage changes are correctly extracted, the failure to accurately interpret the nature of the data provided prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is hindered by the inaccurate data interpretation mentioned in the task achievement section. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In the year 2015' and 'on the other hand', but these are sometimes used to introduce information that is not supported by the provided table. The transition between the description of percentage changes and the summary of absolute values is abrupt and confusing, as the data does not support the conclusions drawn.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, using terms like 'percentage change', 'revenue', and 'categories'. However, there is some repetition of 'export' and 'value'. The student uses 'downfall' to describe a decrease, which is slightly unnatural in this context; 'decline' or 'decrease' would be more precise. There are also minor errors in phrasing, such as 'textile's export' (should be 'textile exports'). The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Value of petroleum products has increased' (missing article 'The'), 'Engineered goods' cost rose' (awkward phrasing), and 'highest export remains petroleum products' (tense inconsistency). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the misuse of articles and occasional awkward phrasing detract from the overall fluency. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score to a 6.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.