Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26
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 bar graph depicts the export value of a single country in the financial years 2015 and 2016.And the table displays the change in each of the types in these exports. The x axis presents the different product categories and y axis shows the total value in billions.
To begin with, the sources with the most money made in 2015 and 2016 are petroleum and engineered products. With petroleum products having over 60 billion and had a marginal increase in 2016 with almost 65 billion. However, engineering goods had quiet similar values. In contrast to these sources, the other sections had significantly lesser values than the above two types. With gems and jewellery having a total of over 53 billion in 2015 and decreasing slightly to approximately 50 billion. However, the bottom two had almost the same net value of over 41 billion.
On the other hand, the table demonstrates that petroleum products and engineered products, agricultural products and Textiles surged in their total values, with the most impactful increases of textiles and petroleum with petroleum increasing sharply with 8.5 percent growth and Textiles grew by 15.24 percent. However, the most drastic surge was showed by gems and jewellery with 5.18 percent decrease.
Overall, it is clear from all perspectives that textiles and gems and jewellery had the most significant fluctuation in their net values.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features of the export data and comparing the categories. You successfully highlighted the top performers like petroleum and engineering goods and noted the trends in the table. However, there is a significant inaccuracy in your analysis: you stated that gems and jewellery showed a '5.18 percent decrease' as a 'drastic surge,' which is contradictory and confusing. Additionally, the data interpretation for the bottom two categories is vague. To reach a higher band, ensure that your descriptions of trends are logically consistent with the data provided and avoid using contradictory terminology when describing percentage changes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is logically organised into clear paragraphs, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs and a summary. You use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with,' 'In contrast to,' and 'On the other hand' to guide the reader. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions are slightly forced. For instance, the transition between the bar graph description and the table data could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the connection between the categories mentioned in the second paragraph and the table data in the third could be more integrated to improve the overall cohesion of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'marginal increase,' 'significantly lesser,' and 'fluctuation.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'sources with the most money made' is informal and imprecise; 'categories with the highest export value' would be more appropriate. You also use 'quiet' instead of 'quite' and 'showed' instead of 'shown.' While these errors do not impede communication, they limit your ability to demonstrate the precision required for higher bands. Expanding your range of academic collocations would be beneficial.
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 'the most drastic surge was showed by gems and jewellery' (passive voice error) and 'had quiet similar values' (adjective/adverb confusion). You also have some sentence fragments, such as 'With petroleum products having over 60 billion and had a marginal increase...' which lacks a main verb. While the meaning remains clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from being considered error-free. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct sentence construction will help improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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