Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-07

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 4.5)

the assigned bar graph delineates information regarding that the percentage change in each category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.

overall, it is evident that the Agriculture experienced a significant decline it share of GDP over the 40 year period. conversely, the services sector witnessed substantial growth, emerging as the dominant contributor to india's economy. while the industrial sector showed steady, moderate growth.

In 1960, agriculture was by far the largest economy driver. accounting for a commanding share of over 60% of the total GDP. however, its contribution decreased progressively in each subsequent decade to roughly 40%. and by the end of the period in 2000, agriculture share had plunged to its lowest point at approximately 25%.

In the sharp contrast, the services sector started as the second largest component in 1960, making up around 30% of the economic output it grew steadily over the next two decades before experiencing an aggressive surge after 1980. ultimately peaking at just over 50%. in 2000. meanwhile the industrial sector consistently generated he smallest share of the GDP throughout. the period industry stared at the modest 10% in 1960 climbed incrementally over the year and eventually doubled its contribution to reach roughly 20% by the turn of the millennium.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for a summary of a table showing export categories in 2015 and 2016, but the student has written a report about GDP sectors in India from 1960 to 2000. Because the student failed to address the provided data entirely, the task achievement is severely compromised. Even if the content were relevant, the failure to identify the correct data set makes it impossible to award a passing score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is structured with an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs, which provides a basic logical flow. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or misused, such as 'In the sharp contrast' and 'while the industrial sector showed steady, moderate growth' (which is a sentence fragment). Paragraphing is present, but the lack of connection to the actual task data makes the progression of ideas irrelevant to the prompt provided.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a reasonable range of vocabulary, such as 'delineates', 'commanding share', 'plunged', and 'incrementally'. However, there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'agriculture experienced a significant decline it share' (missing preposition) and 'industry stared at the modest 10%' (should be 'started'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning, but the misuse of terms and grammatical errors in word forms limit the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in punctuation and grammar that occasionally impede readability. Examples include sentence fragments ('while the industrial sector showed steady, moderate growth'), missing articles ('agriculture share'), and incorrect verb forms ('industry stared at the modest 10%'). Punctuation is inconsistent, with periods placed incorrectly within sentences, such as 'roughly 40%. and by the end'.

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

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